Yudhra review: Siddhant Chaturvedi's film is high on action, low on emotions

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Yudhra story:

Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan's action-thriller Yudhra is about a young man struggling with major anger issues. The basic premise of this revenge saga revolves around Siddhant's character, Yudhra, who takes on a drug lord, Firoz, and his son, Shafiq, while also trying to find out the truth behind his parents' death.

Yudhra review:

Yudhra is an action thriller directed by Ravi Udyawar. He also directed the 2017 film Mom, which starred (late) Sridevi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Considering the fantastic film he made earlier, I had certain expectations from his new offering, which features Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan. But the movie turned out to be a disappointing affair.

The film traces back to the time Yudhra was born in unforeseen circumstances. Yudhra lost his parents before his birth. His father Girish, a celebrated police officer, and pregnant mother Prerna die in a tragic car accident. However, Yudhra survives but a medical condition, at the time of his birth, affects his brain. That said, it's rather difficult to understand how it relates to his anger issues. (one major flaw of the film).

Yudhra is adopted and raised by his father's colleague Karthik. But he seems upset with this fact and behaves rudely with him for a long time (another fact which sounds strange). Yudhra's carefree attitude, temperamental nature, and antics land him in trouble multiple times, but he is saved by Karthik until one fine incident. After he is expelled from a cadet training academy, Rehman Siddiqui, another colleague of Girish and father figure to Yudhra, asks him to work as an undercover agent for him. Hereon, Yudhra sets out on a mission to take on the drug lord Firoz and his flamboyant son Shafiq. It is followed by a tiring mishmash of too many things.

The biggest flaw of Yudhra lies in the film's lead character's confusing personality itself. The character is said to have anger issues, but his anger outburst comes out at his convenience. Yudhra goes all out when he's angry but has just 'sorry' to say after creating havoc anywhere. Except for a few of the scenes, it's hard to emotionally connect with him. The character itself lacks emotional depth; despite a tragic past. Having said that, Siddhant has done a decent job and that shows in his action sequences.

Moreover, the romantic angle between Yudhra and Nikhat (Malavika Mohanan) lacks soul. There's a point in the film where Nikhat doesn't want to be with Yudhra due to his absence when she needed him the most. The very next moment, she lets it go and rekindles her romance with him. The romantic track Saathiya looks forced and has no connection with the film's storyline.

Amid the mishmash of too many things, the film loses its hold and your interest as well. The twists, planned in the film, become predictable and the story seems never-ending. For a film that is heavy on clichés, the runtime of 2 hours 30 minutes is a bit too much.

However, there's no denying that the makers have worked well on the intense action scenes of the film. The stylized bike sequences are also entertaining to watch. I would say that the film's slick and well-choreographed action sequences are one of the very few things that are good in this film.

Another good thing about the film is the performance of the star cast. Raj Arjun, as the menacing villain Firoz, gives his best shot and overshadows the main hero in some scenes. As for Malavika Mohanan, she surprises in scenes where she performs heavy action. Ram Kapoor and Gajraj Rao play their parts well. But, unfortunately, their efforts go in vain. Even Raghav Juyal as Shafiq has nothing major to offer unlike his previous action thriller Kill.