- Date of Release: 15 March 2024
- Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
Yodha
Introduction
Can a film which is reasonably delayed and giving a slightly stale vibe with its trailer, still manage to impress? Hell Yeah!! With that, I finished watching the new Hindi film Yodha starring Sidharth Malhotra which was quite the delayed film coming from the prestigious Dharma banner. Now here is a perception amongst the viewers that if a film is delayed, it most probably won’t work given that the buzz around the film would slowly die down. But here is a lesson – don’t add assumptions even before watching the film! The promotional campaign of Yodha seemed to be minimalistic that certainly did not contribute to the already low buzz surrounding the film. Its trailer for me did seem a bit generic as well except the finale fight scene(in the trailer) that did look promising. As a result, I must admit that I wasn’t as excited venturing into the drama while expecting it to be another run on the mill kind of film which would ‘probably’ impress me in parts. But seldom did I know that the next two hours for me would transform my opinion around the film in the most pleasant way possible. So then, does Yodha manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Yodha follows the sequence of events following a hijack situation which is unfolding in mid-air with an off-duty soldier at the helm of things. Is he the one orchestrating things or will he eventually act as a saviour? The story here may not entirely be novel given that you would have a major recall of films like Non-Stop or even the recently released film Tiger 3. But what sets Yodha apart is its treatment particularly in the action space where the film excels and how! The screenplay standing at about 130 odd minutes is fast paced and surprising compelling, and this felt even more so because I had gone in with minimal expectations. I would in fact stick my neck out and say that this is probably the best piece of action that I have seen in a Hindi film in a very long time, and kudos to the makers and folks at Dharma for believing in their product even when the murmurs around it weren’t very positive!
The drama opens with a quick context regarding the protagonist and his motivation to eventually become a soldier and serve the nation. And I liked how controlled things were here with the writers taking special care on not to harp on chest-thumping patriotism but instead add a more grounded touch to the proceedings. The initial setup is followed by an extravagent action set piece that included the introduction of the protagonist, and instantly you get to know that he is a one-man army, borderline rebellious and absolutely thrives in the thick of things. This particularly action set-piece also featured a phenomenal one-take sequence with a stationary cam and a revolving lens that absolutely set the ball rolling for things to follow. The conflict in the story arises soon after when the Yodhas(that is what their group was called) fail in a mission resulting in catastrophe, only for all fingers to be pointed to the protagonist(with a little infused jibe given the current political landscape). This conflict is the precursor for the rest of the film to follow.
The proceedings are engaging with not a single dull moment right throughout the narrative. There is a definitely method to the madness that ensues wherein the writers wish to challenge the intellect of the viewers particularly in the chain of events leading up to the halfway mark. I particularly liked how a few things were left unanswered only to be used as a foreshadow for the rest of the film. And because the setting of the drama(well most parts of it) is confined the aisles of the aircraft, it did create an intimate space where the tension was nicely built up with every passing minute. There are some interesting twists and turns along the way that actually keep you on the edge of your seat while also being slightly weary of the antics of the protagonist. A parallel plot point of some of the action happening across the border in the form of a delegation of peace only adds to the complexities of the drama in a very good way.
Things shift gears majorly in the events of yhe second hour with multiple twists and turns accompanying the narrative. Now, I could view the events in a two-fold manner – one being that the drama wasn’t quite allowed to build around those twists that were quick and abrupt, but the other being that even the silliest of twists did make for a rather enthralling watch. And honestly, I was more inclined to the latter, as I found myself engaged throughout the second hour. Everytime I did feel that the culmination of a track just dipped the screenplay a but, a new twist reignited my interest in the drama. And that is a huge victory for the writing team! My only issue in all this chaos was that the protagonist was presented as a borderline superhero(no puns intended) who had all the cheat codes of the situation in hand. Perhaps, a little more importance to some of the other characters would have actually benefited the film better.
The events leading to the final act were straight off the set of Tiger 3, but it also did showcase the importance of treatment in a screenplay. While Tiger 3 was watchable but underwhelming and majorly confined to the Spy Universe, Yodha here flourishes with its storytelling that was focused and included an ‘Indian’ stake in the entire scheme of things despite being set across the border. But one commonality between Tiger 3 and Yodha was that both films did not resort to chest-thumbing jingoism that eventually allowed the drama to prosper. The extended climax ends on a little homage to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(yes, you read that right) that felt woefully out of place, but on either side of that homage, the drama was enthralling summing up a screenplay that ticked all the right boxes in the action-thriller zone.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are adequate and the lines score every time the protagonist doesn’t resort to ‘dialogue-baazi’. The impact would have been far better if this little bit was taken care of(and also can we just get over the ‘Janaab’ reference now?). The music is good and it gels well with the mood of the drama. The BGM is enthralling and compliments the narrative along with the phenomenally choreographed action set-pieces pretty well. The cinematography was stunning particularly in capturing the engaging vibe of the action sequences. In fact, the frames keep you on the edge and the tight closeups in hand to hand combat sequences make you a bystander in the scene. The editing needs to be applauding barring that one spot where you see the characters in the cargo only to immediately cut to the cockpit with the same characters in the second hour, there was a missing link). But otherwise, the editor deserves a raise for maintaining the intensity in the drama through some fast jump edits that absolutely made for a phenomenal watch. Directors Pushkar Ojha and Sagar Ambre make stunning debuts here in such a well controlled action flick. They seemed to know the pulse of the viewers and as a result present the world and its protagonist in a rather pulsating manner. But it also needs to be emphasized that they manoeuvred this flight really well wherein there was method to the madness, and that helped Yodha breach the engaging territory. The direction was phenomenal.
Performances
The performances are wonderful by the ensemble cast. It was nice to spot Anupama Chouhan in a little role. Pawan Chopra is terrific here despite a limited screen time, as is Ronit Roy as Arun’s father. Chittranjan Tripathy as Dhingra, Sanjay Gurbaxani as the Indian Head of the State and Mikhail Yawalkar as Ahmed are decent and lend good support. Sunny Hinduja as Jalal manages to impress particularly in the finale act with his tongue and cheek humour. My only issue with his casting was that I knew there was a twist coming from somewhere, that made the drama a little predictable(if shocking the viewers was the primary goal, unsure if it was or not). Tanuj Virwani as Sam Khan definitely has a phenomenal screen presence and I think his was a good casting choice because you needed someone to stand out with Sid Malhotra. My only complaint was that his role was contrived whereas he could have been in the thick of things easily, almost like a helping hand for the protagonist, like the case being in Tiger 3.
Kritika Bhardwaj as Tanya is wonderful to watch and I liked how her character was tactfully used in the larger scheme of things. There was definitely a childish charm to her character to begin with, that soon transformed into maturity towards the end of the drama in a nice little character arc. Disha Patani as Laila looks pretty and definitely impresses. Kudos to the makers for playing to her strengths while utilizing the screen presence of Disha really well. Raashii Khanna is a totally different actor and a lot more comfortable in the Hindi space as compared to some of her other works down south. She is wonderfully understated and essays her character with a lot of dignity while never going over board in any scene.
This brings me to Sidharth Malhotra aka Arun aka Yodha and I can safely say that this is his ‘Product Market Fit’ going forward. I feel the action space has always been the genre for him and he briefly showed his antics in Shershah before the blemish Indian Police Force. But here he proves that if he is utilized well with some good action choreography, he definitely has it in him to pull things off. And the kickass action that he orchestrates, also rubs off in his overall performance that had a lot of intensity going for his character. I can safely say that An Action Star is born and here to stay(and hopefully his choices are smart going forward).
Conclusion
Boasting of good performances, Yodha is a pleasantly surprising action drama that is solid in many ways and has definitely exceeded my expectations. This is definitely a step ahead for the Hindi film industry in the action genre and it certainly accounts for an enthralling watch. Available in a theatre near you.