Yudh

Who better to get the desperately needed change on Indian TV amidst loony Saans-bahu shows, than Amitabh Bachchan himself.

Although the series begins with a slow pace, it quickly engrosses its viewers in fast gripping, puzzle like thriller drama.

I have never witnessed a better casting on TV than Yudh's Cast. Every single person on show makes their role believable to the T. No over the top acting, No excess make up, no 'you must be kidding me' expressions.

A special mention to Mona Wasu, Aahana Kumra and Zakir Hussain, perfect choice and they deliver great performances.

And this comes as no surprise that Amitabh Bachchan excels once again, as he said in one of the episodes ' unless you don't challenge yourself, set new targets/tasks you can't change the Game. Amitabh Bachchan is indeed a Game Changer.

I must warn you that once you have started watching YUDH it's hard to pause. You want to go on to unveil the mystery.

Watch it for it's amazing plot line, for it's perfect direction, outstanding performances. Most of all watch it to see why Amitabh is and will always be the Legend.

Tu na thakega kabhi, Tu na thamega kabhi, Tu na mudega kabhi, Kar shapath! Kar shapath! Kar shapath! Agneepath! Agneepath! Agneepath!

Even at 71 years Mr. Bachchan is unstoppable. He continues to lead, to inspire. Amongst many firsts we will always remember him as the Superstar who brought glam to humble television. And he continues to do it.

Coming to Yudh, I have watched two episodes and am impressed with the way Br. Bachchan has acted. There is a reason why some people transcend time and Mr. Bachchan is a living example of it. He is exceptional in his performance and connects with his audience to the T. Anand (Zakir Hussain) plays a key role in the serial and does complete justice to the importance of the character. But this is where the good part ends.

First of all Sony, a channel struggling to make an impact with the audience fails to understand that people love uninterrupted flow of story. Breaks are a necessary evil, one gets that, coz the sponsor is pumping money for this but using the break to cross promote other shows? Lot of people might do it under various pretext but answer a simple question, I am eating Chinese and if someone tries to keep serving Sambar and idli how will you feel? Irritating is an understatement!

KK looks underutilized but then it's too early to say that. Mr. Bachchan's wife looks too young for him. If I have to give a reference point then it shall be from the movie Sarkar, Mr. Bachchan's wife looked right age for the role.

Yudh is a real estate tycoon, and going by experience most real estate guys have wonderful offices. Unfortunately this fact has been ignored by the director. Yudh's office is more like a make shift office and one can make it out. It lacks the largeness which goes with real estate guys.

The series depicts the story of Delhi, Gurgaon…wonder why such an important person like Yudh will not have basic security? It appears like anyone can reach him, anywhere. Too lame, once again no thinking involved on the part of director.

Yudh seems to be caught up with nuisances like Commissioner and some other Government officers, anyone who is worth their salt in the construction business know that these guys are just pawns. All the strings are held by the ministers. And if I am sitting on the pinnacle of success then I definitely know how to move the Government machinery rather than getting bogged down by it. The script lacks planning and clearly falls short. A person like Yudh should have opponents worthy of a tussle.

Direction is bad, I would have loved to use softer words but it won't be right. My reader please allow me to share an example, in one of the scene, Yudh's daughter is hospitalized. He comes across the girls "legal" dad. But then the legal dad gets a call and imagine what he does, he says excuse me and goes inside the patient's room to take the call. How stupid is that! People are asked to limit the use of cell phones if they are visiting a hospital, not only the director ignores this, but goes on to show that the legal dad took the call by going inside the patient's room. Amazing!!!

And what is with the imaginary character of the joker? It's a borrowed concept from the West. If one had to show an imaginary character then it has to be something or someone who connects with India at an emotional level. A joker is not only frivolous but has no connect with the viewers.

People who tend to make serials with a difference should realise we are no longer isolated; people have a good experience of what is world class and Yudh falls short.

Featuring some of the best known theatre and character actors, 1st episode of YUDH is intriguing and creates enough suspense and leaves enough space for the audience to think of the remaining episodes. Mr.Amitabh is pitch perfect in the lead role giving a towering performance so far and one would expect the series to move in a pacy manner once the characters are clearly established.

All in all, a positive step for Indian television and who better to lead from the front than Mr.Bachchan.

Wait and watch out for other key roles played by Tigmanshu dhulia, kaykay menon and Azakir Hussain with Nawazuddin Siddqui yet to appear.

We live in a country where stupid and meaningless 'Saas-Bahu' serials have been ruling the roost on small screen for nearly a decade an a half. Then came Mr. Amitabh Bachchan in 2000 with 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' and he changed the TV industry. Now he comes with another gem.

I had lots of expectation from the show and after watching the last episode, I can proudly say that the show has exceeded that.

Kudos to Anurag Kashyap for venturing into finite TV series (fictional). The guy has a creative eye an it is pretty evident from the show. He takes some of the best actors from India in the field of theater and cinema and convinces Mr. Bachchan to play the lead protagonist (Yudhishthir Sikarwar). The show is fast paced (except for the 1st episode) with lots of twist and turns.

The Legend of Mr. Amitabh will only get bigger after the show. He is flawless while portraying a character of a businessman suffering from a terminal disease and battling some personal issues, a man who just wants to do the right thing, a man who is fighting his inner demons (in this case a Joker played superbly by Mr. Ishtikya). Mr. Bachchan does a small fight sequence at the end which will ignite memories of his 70s and 80s action movies.

Zakir Hussian impressed me first when I saw him play a negative character in 'Sarkar Raj' and here plays a character of a fixer. His chemistry with Mr. Bachchan is a highlight of the show. Pavail Gulati plays Mr. Bachchan's son. His character evolves during the show and you end up liking him as the series reaches its climax. Aahana Kumara plays Mr. Bachchan's daughter who is level headed and wants to help her father. She is graceful as well as beautiful (got a crush on her). Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin, Sarika and Tigmanshu Dhulia play important characters and leave an impact. Though I wish Nawazuddin had played the villain's role. The main villain gets over shadowed by Mr Bachchan's charisma in the finale but does a decent job in the 18th and 19th episode.

There is no melodrama or overacting and has some of the finest performances you will ever see on Indian Television.

The show lost the ratings war against 'Saas Bahu' serials but then we Indians take time to appreciate the good things in life.

The only negative is that it has just 20 episodes and for me it is the finest fictional TV show ever made in India.

Yudh may not have done too great with the TRP numbers but it does show good promise and shows the immense potential as far as content is concerned. The likes of 24 and Yudh makes Indian television watchable to me. These shows should be marketed and packaged better like how West does for the likes of Breaking Bads, Game of Thrones, etc.

In the coming future, we'll see much better series in terms of content but Yudh will definitely stand out as the trend-setter.

Pros: The attempt, the story, the intact suspense, performances and film-making.

Cons: Too dark, too much happening in two little time, opportunity lost on focusing more on Yudh's intra-personal communication (something that Breaking Bad does brilliantly with Walter White)

Indeed, a bold attempt with good actors. AB's presence will encourage others to come up with similar stuff and in coming days we'll surely see more of these.