‘Yodha’ movie review: Sidharth Malhotra fights to keep this formulaic flight afloat

The Karan Johar production is yet another aerial action-adventure where posturing and purpose don’t find a common plane

Taking a queue from the government working towards taking the airplane travel to the last passenger in the row, Mumbai cinema is taking action to the skies for the common audience. After Runway 34, Tejas, Fighter, and Operation Valentine from the South, Yodha is the latest in the trend of aerial action that is constantly hit by air pockets, leading to a turbulent experience.

The stunts are impressive but the script is stunted. It is the same old story of a hero in uniform who doesn’t follow the command and how he demolishes some rogue elements with vested interests who want to derail the India-Pakistan peace process. The film’s attempt to achieve gender parity by putting strong female characters around the male saviour feels formulaic, and it seems the filmmakers exercised a lot more creative freedom in depicting the pre-2014 era’s political leadership.

Directed by newcomers Pushkar Ojha and Sagar Ambre, the highlight of the film is the combat scenes in the skies, some of which leap at you. Sidharth Malhotra, once again, impresses with his screen presence, booming voice, and agility. Moving with a sense of purpose that the character demands, here is a young action hero who doesn’t need to announce his presence by going bare-chested but his neonate charisma and Rashii Khanna’s attempt to make a stock character sound sincere can’t make a script that reads more like an airplane handbook fly.

The physical punches land well but the emotional ones don’t. The surprise element crucial for the middle portion to hold and important for the final act to dazzle doesn’t work as the element of intrigue doesn’t envelop us or bring us anywhere close to the edge of the seat. Probably, the aerial exercise is meant to stock the library of an OTT platform where seating position doesn’t matter.

Ambre, who has also written the film, has employed a couple of interesting twists in the tale. Still, the journey to those twists has not been mapped properly, just like the characterisation of Disha Patani. Holding on to a secret doesn’t necessarily mean you go expressionless till the big reveal arrives. Here the distraction makes one log out and even when the action choreography injects adrenaline one doesn’t care for the outcome.

Yodha is currently running in theatres