Yodha Review: Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani's Action Film Is A Turbulent Ride

Sidharth Malhotra starrer hostage rescue drama Yodha invertently draws comparisons with National Award winning film Neerja. Ram Mhvani directorial was inspired by a real-life hijacking incident and traced how an unassuming flight attendant became an unlikely hero. However, despite being similar in treatment to Neerja on so many accounts, Yodha turns out to be a turbulent ride which is hijacked by a predictable screenplay and its preference to drama over action.

Hot Take

Yodha goes off beaten track as it sets up storyline. We meet overconfident hero Arun Katyal (Sidharth Malhotra) at his most vulnerable as he fails in his mission to save a decorated nuclear scientist. rest of plot is his redemption story.

plot gives ample space to Sidharth to tap into his vulnerable side and strike a balance between brawn and emotions, something that he did quite well in Shershaah. However, unlike Vikram Batra biopic, tonality shift in Yodha becomes its flaw, a burden it fails to shrug off.

Does Yodha live up to hype?  

Yodha kicks off in style with an action sequence, n jumps into a romantic number which is quickly followed up with an in-flight rescue mission. While film sails on two boats, it fails to find a firm footing in eir. By time we expect more action to kick in, romance and eventual discord between husband-wife push story into a drab zone. plot n keeps building with scattered action sequences thrown in.

Sidharth's film does injustice to its action film tag by indulging in too many details. "who did what" bears well in a whodunit and not in a film that is supposed to take you on a ride - quite literally inside a flight. At some point, big twist of film is also a give away. This is a direct consequence of overindulge in plot, hoping le actor to carry audience with flow. However, Sidharth's limited range in acting becomes quite burden.  

Kashmir plot returns

No points for guessing but Yodha builds up on India-Pakistan rivalry. With terrorism and 'Az Kashmir' incorporated, context doesn't offer anything new eir. Clichéd dialogues are thrown in to simmer tension. Despite its in-flight action novelty, done-to-death context is enough to undo all that film h going in its favour.

Sidharth saves day

Sidharth saves day as a redemption-seeking member of elite task force Yodha. He brings brawn to action scenes, which form majority of enjoyable moments in film. He looks part and with more combat and less dialogue involved, Yodha could have done better with actor's towering presence.

Disha Patani as flight attendant Laila has something suspicious going on and it reflects in her demeanour. Ideally, that should not have been case. Things take a turn for worse when she begins to deliver one-tone dialogues, devoid of any modulation or emotion. Raashii Khanna has also been underused. Her scenes with Sidharth do have ir charm but as plot progresses, she fes into backdrop.

Watch it or skip it?

Yodha is good in action sequences and re is a certain novelty in manner it treats its combat scenes. y stick well with audience but don't come as often as one would expect. film, however, tries its best to build tension, but fails to land it correctly.

Bottomline

When you realise that Yodha is an action film with a storyline to follow, you start to lose interest in it. Until n, it's a fun watch. Unfortunately, this realisation dawns upon quite early, making rest of 2-hour film a dull watch.

Rating: 2/5 Stars