Director: Ravi Udyawar
Star cast: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Raghav Juyal, Malavika Mohanan, Raj Arjun, Ram Kapoor, Gajraj Rao
Where to watch: In theatres
Rating: 3 stars
A hot-headed Yudi aka Yudhra (Siddhant), who fails to adjust to a civilised world, gets a chance to channel his anger into bringing down a drug empire. However, as Yudhra goes undercover, he finds out much more about his father's tragic death and also strives hard to protect his love Nikhat (Malavika) from the baddies. Will Yudhra come out victorious? That's the rest of the plot.
Director Ravi Udyawar, who helmed Sridevi's edge-of-the-seat crime-thriller Mom (2018), returns with his next directorial after six years. Naturally, the expectations were high. Siddhant Chaturvedi, who has impressed in Inside Edge, Gully Boy, and Gehraiyaan, further builds hype. However, Yudhra falls short of those expectations, and it ends up becoming an average action flick, which is good in parts but suffers due to a predictable plot.
Yudhra starts with a bang, with a scene where Yudhra gets shot and falls into the sea. This sets the mood for an interesting thriller. The first half is a flashback of Yudi's troubled childhood, from losing his parents to getting rusticated from school and the BSF Campus due to his anger issues and getting imprisoned for the same. His journey from an angry brat to an undercover agent has been-there-done-that vibes. Farhan Akhtar's screenplay tries to navigate across multiple storylines, but the sloppy pace hampers the drama. Yudhra picks up in the second half, with some brilliant action set pieces. The plot also becomes gripping as the secrets unfold. However, the plot twists become too easy to predict after a point, and you can see the big reveal much before it happens.
Yudhra does work in a number of places. First, the action is raw, brutal, and engaging enough to hold your attention. These scenes hold the film well and keep the momentum. An action scene will only be good when the actors performing it look convincing on the screen. Siddhanth, Raghav, and Malavika score well in this area. When it comes fo the performances, the film belongs to Raghav and Siddhant. After Kill, Raghav delivers another fine performance. He's fast becoming the preferred maniac of Bollywood. Siddhanth packs a punch. He makes a fine attempt to become the new action hero. His raging eyes justify Yudi's madness and kiss-kiss-bang-bang attitude. Malavika, a well-known star in the south, makes a strong entry in Bollywood with her performance. Though she has less screen time, she makes sure to grab the attention. Malavika also looks lethal in the action scenes, and her chemistry with Siddhanth looks electrifying. Raj Arjun and Ram Kapoor do a decent job in their respective roles. Gajraj Rao tries hard to look unpredictable, but his act falls flat in the second half. The songs are also mood-killers, and a few of them also damage the narrative.
Overall, Yudhra is a good start for Siddhant Chaturvedi as an action hero. The film could have been the next big dhamaka in the action genre, only if the narrative could have been gripping enough.
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