Yodha takes flight with ambition and adrenaline, aiming to be a slick action-thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat. And to a large extent, it delivers. But beneath the stylized combat and high-altitude chaos, you’re left wondering — is there anything more?
Sidharth Malhotra plays Arun Katyal, a suspended special ops soldier who finds himself in the middle of a hijacking that quickly spirals into something far more dangerous. This is familiar territory for him after Shershaah, and once again, he wears the uniform with conviction. His physicality is impressive, and the action choreography — especially the close-combat sequences inside the airplane — is tight, intense, and kinetic.
But where Yodha succeeds in energy, it falters in emotional depth. The story moves fast, with just enough plot twists to keep you hooked, but the characters remain surface-level. The patriotic dialogues come thick and fast, but they rarely land with the weight they’re meant to. It feels more like a performance than a punch to the gut.
Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna lend glamour and support, but neither gets the material they deserve. The hijack setup could’ve offered space for psychological tension or moral complexity — instead, it’s reduced to a series of action beats and plot reveals.
What saves Yodha is its pace. It doesn’t let you breathe, and maybe that’s the intention. You’re not here for nuance — you’re here for action, heroism, and spectacle. And on that front, it’s a slick ride.
Yodha may not break new ground, but it knows what it wants to be: a popcorn entertainer with sky-high stakes and a patriotic pulse. Sometimes, that’s enough.
