‘Yudhra’ Movie Review: Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan’s Action Film is Low on Knockout Punches! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Yudhra Movie Review: Siddhant Chaturvedi made a striking Bollywood debut with a supporting role in Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy. However, since then, the talented outsider has struggled to break into the big league despite strong performances in films like Gehraiyaan and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. Malavika Mohanan, the beautiful daughter of cinematographer KU Mohanan, has also been waiting for years for her big Bollywood break, though she has done notable movies in the South, like the recent Thangalaan. Ravi Udyawar casts these two in his new actioner, Yudhra, with hopes that this would be their ticket to the big show. Yudhra certainly has the potential to pull that trick for them but squanders it in some ordinary writing and treatment. ‘Yudhra’ Trailer 2 Review: War Is On! The Action-Packed Face-Off Between Siddhant Chaturvedi and Raghav Juyal Leaves Fans Excited!

Even before he was born, Yudhra (Siddhant Chaturvedi) lost his parents when his cop father and pregnant mother were killed in a car accident. The baby survives but sustains some damage, resulting in anger management issues as he grows up. Don’t ask me how. Does it matter to the plot? Not really. While it sets up some conflict for our protagonist in the beginning, by the end, Yudhra behaves like any other action hero, with or without anger issues.

Yudhra is adopted by Karthik (Gajraj Rao), one of his father’s colleagues in the police force who later becomes a politician. There’s also Rahman (Ram Kapoor), who acts as a father figure, and his daughter Nikhat (Malavika Mohanan), Yudhra’s childhood companion. Yudhra is a strange character. As a child, he traps injured lizards even though he knows they can regenerate limbs and would prefer freedom. As an adult, he hates littering but has no problem breaking traffic rules with dangerous bike stunts. He’s also cold towards his foster father for daring to adopt him. I don’t think anger issues are his real problem; it seems more like an inflated ego.

Watch the Trailer of 'Yudhra':

After being expelled from cadet school for attacking hooligans and bizarrely sent to a prison filled with hardened criminals, Rahman offers Yudhra a new job—going undercover to infiltrate a gang of drug dealers led by Firoz (Raj Arjun) and his unhinged son Shafiq (Raghav Juyal). Yudhra hopes to find the man responsible for his parents’ deaths, but things aren’t as straightforward as they seem.

'Yudhra' Movie Review - The Action Scenes

Yudhra is essentially an action film with a love story woven in. The action scenes are the highlight and the best parts of the movie. However, their execution evokes mixed feelings. Some of the violence, such as Yudhra driving a poker through a goon’s ear, feels extreme, and that's fine with the tone of the movie. Siddhant Chaturvedi brings plenty of energy to the action sequences. The film also offers a variety of locales, both Indian and international, giving these scenes a unique visual style enhanced by Jay Pinak Oza’s cinematography. In Yudhra’s best action scene, set in a musical instrument shop in Portugal, the heroine is given agency, stepping out of the damsel-in-distress role to cause more chaos than the hero.

However, the action scenes suffer from the same problems plaguing most Bollywood films—excessive editing and shaky camera work. This detracts from the raw intensity of the violence. It doesn’t help that Raghav Juyal’s presence reminds you of another action film that handles this element much better. The CGI used in certain scenes, like a shot of bullets whizzing inside water, is not always up to mark.

'Yudhra' Movie Review - Faltering Screenplay

The action and the actors are also trapped in an ordinary screenplay that lacks depth or cleverness. The undercover storyline offers nothing new and is inconsistent, even bordering on absurd. For instance, Rahman tells Yudhra never to put himself in danger. Then why send him to a dangerous prison and then have him infiltrate an even more dangerous gang?

An intense action sequence occurs on a cargo ship before the interval—Yudhra opens with a scene that takes place at the tail-end of this segment. It involves an undercover hero fighting for his life as commandos attack the ship carrying drugs. This is a crucial moment, but the details are so murky that I’m still unsure why the ship was attacked or what role Yudhra’s handler played in the mission. Some of the twists are painfully obvious, such as the revelation of a traitor on the hero’s side. Even worse, there’s no emotional fallout from this revelation despite the character’s long-standing relationship with the protagonists. ‘Yudhra’: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Malavika Mohanan and Raghav Juyal Enjoy Delicious Rajasthani Lunch in Jaipur (View Pics).

While the heroine gets more agency in the fight scenes, Yudhra still relies on clichés, like villains delivering long-winded monologues and expositions before attempting to kill the hero—and failing. The romantic subplot between Nikhat and Yudhra begins in the most hackneyed way, making it hard for the audience to invest in their relationship. Although it improves in the second half, it’s still not emotionally engaging enough to carry the weight of a few key scenes. One moment, Nikhat is questioning Yudhra’s lack of involvement in a crucial event in her life, and the next, they’re acting all lovey-dovey as if that conversation never happened.

I also wish the screenplay had made better use of Yudhra’s anger issues and integrated them more effectively into the plot. As I mentioned earlier, he just ends up doing what any typical action hero would do, with the occasional red-tinted screen to remind us of his anger. Also, can we give him some better post-kill punchlines?

As for the performances, Siddhant Chaturvedi brings enough flair and energy to his role and holds the screen well. Malavika Mohanan impresses in the action scenes, but she tends to overact during dialogue-heavy moments. Raghav Juyal does a great job playing a flamboyant, possibly bisexual gangster, although his character isn’t as well-written as his role in Kill. Ram Kapoor and Gajraj Rao are dependable, as always. Raj Arjun, however, hams it up as the villain, especially in the third act.)

'Yudhra' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

While the action sequences have their moments, and the cast puts in their best efforts, Yudhra still falls into the trap of being just another formulaic action film. The lack of emotional depth, overreliance on cliches, and better editing make this film feel like a missed shot at something more substantial in the action genre. And like the hero, that offers enough reasons to make you angry... very angry!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2024 10:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).