Yodha Review: Sidharth Malhotra Holds Fort In An Otherwise Formulaic Drama

Movie: Yodha
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani, Raashii Khanna
Director: Sagar Ambre, Pushkar Ojha
Producer: Karan Johar, Shashank Khaitan 
Rating: 2.5 Stars 

'Yodha' Movie Review: Sidharth Malhotra seems to have found his niche, the valiant soldier who wears his stripes proudly and can sacrifice himself in the line of duty.

After the blockbuster Shershaah, Mission Majnu, the actor is back as Flight Lt Arun Katyal, an officer in the special Yodha task force. In the year 2001, the Indo-Bangladesh border clashes saw a series of armed skirmishes between the Bangladesh Armed Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force. 

As Arun Katyal dodges infiltrators from crossing over, it’s obvious there is no mission or challenge he cannot overcome. But the real test of his loyalty and patriotism comes when he finds himself amid a hostage crisis.

He is accompanying the country’s top nuclear scientist back home when the “Air Hindustan” flight is hijacked by armed terrorists.

As he seems to be the only person who can evade the crisis, he is caught in a dilemma should he single-handedly embark on this perilous assignment or await orders? He chooses to do the former, and this crash lands him in a situation beyond his control. He has failed to avert the crisis and is held accountable and suspended. But what destroys him is that the special task force his father( Ronit Roy) had created may soon be disbanded.

It soon becomes a case of Arun vs the system, in this case, the State. Not only he has lost his professional merit but his personal life is in shambles. His wife Priyamvada Katyal( Raashi Khanna) who works in the ministry is caught between adhering to the rules and supporting her proud husband, who refuses to bend or align.

Years pass and he could well have that one chance to resurrect himself once again. The tainted one-time soldier once again finds himself amid a hostage crisis.

Directed by Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha, Yodha is formulaic and has all the cliches and tropes, however far-fetched it may be in propelling the narrative forward. From getting a grenade emanating tri-coloured smoke to one lone ranger Arun Katyal single-handedly takes on every single person and situation that was a national hazard. 

So even as you shake your head in disbelief at the banality and absurdity of the premise,  it’s held together by Sidharth Malhotra.

The actor is convincing as the tainted officer, whose spirit may have taken a beating, but there is still a lot of fight left in him. He looks good, fights well and tries to save the show to the best of his ability. 

Disha Patani finally gets a chance to break out of her glamorous image, with some scope for performance, as Laila the antagonist. Raashi Khanna as the equally proud Priyamvada who is nowhere pitiful, and sees herself as an equal in marriage, endears. But, sadly both the ladies have restricted screen time for their performances to register.

The first half is pacy but takes a dip in the second half that unnecessarily stretched. The writing is haphazard and lacks consistency at times. Nevertheless, for all its loopholes, and the routine neo-patriotic films being churned out, Yodha solely belongs to Sidharth Malhotra.