Yodha Movie Review: No Logic Spy Film By Siddharth Malhotra??

Do you know that a small magnet, referred to as 'magnet' in English, can hijack an entire big plane? Sounds unbelievable, right? If you're interested in learning more about such bizarre things, there’s a two-and-a-half-hour class happening in the theatre. The subject is 'Yodha', a film that will keep your mind buzzing. Even Bollywood will be left dizzy after watching it. But there's one condition before you watch this maze-like film: you must not use logic or common sense. Just sit back and watch.

A plane is flying thousands of feet above the ground, carrying 200 passengers, and in the plane's toilet, an unconscious man is found. Who is this man? What is he doing there? No one knows. However, everyone has seen the face of the person responsible for his unconsciousness. This guy, who looks like a hero, has now become the biggest villain on the plane. Number one, he gets into the toilet to beat up a man, and number two, he brings a gun into the plane. What are his intentions? Anyone can guess that the scariest word in the dictionary is 'hijack'.

But here’s the amazing part: this guy has done something that no one has ever done before, he has managed to unite India and Pakistan, with both wanting to kill him. Imagine you and I are locked in a room, and the key gets lost, and then a killer accidentally enters that room. What would you do? Would you break the window and jump out straight to the ground? Why? Because you're scared, right? That's how the story of 'Yodha' unfolds, nothing is straightforward. The hero is sometimes a villain, and sometimes the villain looks like a hero.

The good news is that the film's story is not predictable at all and is full of twists and turns, with several shocking moments that will cloud your mind, thanks to the clever writing. By adding a past angle to the story while keeping it in the present, it creates a haunting doubt. Such films become interesting. The India-Pakistan angle might seem boring, I know you know it, and the makers know it too. That’s why the story feels more personal than professional. Action, suspense, and thrill are all present, but one mistake the makers made was ignoring the air experience, which was the film's X-factor.

It had so much potential to create a fantastic air action thriller with special effects that could change Bollywood's face. Sadly, 'Yodha' is a spy thriller, you see. It requires some brainwork. Siddharth Malhotra has done a great job, but the hijacking experience that was felt in 'Neerja' does not have the same impact here. The film didn’t even attempt to capture that emotional side. Speaking of emotions, we were all geared up for Siddharth Malhotra, but in this film, Disha Patani is completely out of place. What she did was very minimal, but the way she toyed with the audience's emotions is definitely something that will be remembered after the film ends.

Look, Malhotra is doing everything expected of him, his action hero style is completely on display. However, when the narrative involves India and Pakistan, even the hero shouting, "I’m the villain, suspect me," won't make people believe him. They already know how and where this story is going to end. That’s why Malhotra’s attempt to show his grey shades fails. Plus, they should have created some mass scenes using the air factor to elevate the cinema level, but they didn’t. The story simply moved forward with dialogues.

In essence, 'Yodha' is not an extraordinary film that you’ve never seen before. But for those who watch it, it will definitely be enjoyable. And don’t make the mistake of comparing it to ‘Shershaah’ or ‘Neerja’. Those two films belong to a different category, while this film only has a small part from each of them. So, I’ll give 'Yodha' two and a half stars out of five. It has a perfect balance of action, suspense, and thrill, but the biggest missed opportunity is the zero use of the air factor. The second mistake is the lack of surprises in the India-Pakistan angle during the climax. Half the emotional depth is cut. If you’re a fan of Siddharth, you could watch it on Amazon Prime Video.