Yudh

Rajiv Rai gave us several good commercial big hits like TRIDEV(89), MOHRA(1994) and a good thriller like GUPT(1997) after which he gave disasters

YUDH(1985) is one of his decent films too

Though not original yet it keeps you engrossed

The film starts with a robbery of cash and we are shown glimpses of Anil Kapoor who is called Junior by Danny and does all bad acts while the other Anil is the good guy Avinash a lawyer Pran is the commissioner who appoints honest cop Jackie Shroff to catch the robber and he arrests Shatrughan Sinha who is innocent and then slowly the mystery is solved

The plot is waferthin but handled well The bad Anil isn't shown fully till later in the film and we are kept in mystery as to whether it's really a dual role or just 1 guy The film does have romance, some bad disco song.etc also lot of disguises by Jackie Shroff There are plot holes like nothing much shown of Shatrughan Sinha in between,also Hema suddenly breaking into a song at Dannys den is amateurish also the film has several formulaic scenes as predicted and it also follows the mundane formula The film is also stretched for too long, But for a film in 1985 it is forgiven

The film keeps you engrossed always throughout and the twists are well handled but towards the end it gets too predictable and filmy

Directorally Rajiv Rai is good Music is a rage but too many songs do stretch the film

Performances Anil Kapoor plays a dual role perfectly this was his first dual role after which he played it in KISHEN KANHAIYAA(1990) As Junior he gets his most famous phrase- JHAKAAS which was born from this role and he enacts the role perfectly he underplays it as Avinash which is a straightforward role comparitvely yet he does it well Jackie plays the honest cop act again after ANDAR BAHAR(1984) and he kept playing such roles again n again yet he does it well Pran is okay Shatrughan Sinha has 3-4 scenes and is releagated to the backseat surprising though Hema is credited as special appearance she has more screenspace then him, he is as usual though looks overweight Hema is decent in her part Tina Munim is okay Danny does his villainy again and does a good job Nutan is as usual Satyen Kappu has a small role Madan Puri too is wasted

"Yudh" as its title suggests is an action packed multi starrer with the fight raged between the good vs the evil and portrays the stereotypical war between the police and mafia in a filmish way which offers no inventiveness of its own. The film offers the same gimmicks and the usual improbabilities which feel weary by this day.

The story feels churned from the usual potboilers to the height of stupidity which becomes obvious by the middle. The dialogue delivery of Jackie Shroff feels weak. There are certain revealing mistakes like Nepal shown as Bali at two instances of the film. However the film has merits of its own if you can separate the obviousness of the plot. The fast pace and the star value add to the merits of the film along the spectacular roles of Anil Kapoor with his famous "Jhakkas" and fight sequences of Praveen Kumar as Xaca. Overall, if you can endure the tastelessness of the plot and its improbabilities, it's watchable.

Rating: 1 star out of 4.

This is one movie that leaves an impression on all its viewers. After 2 decades I can still recall my first impressions of watching this movie.

Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor teamed up to make a string of hit movies in the '80's and this one here would have to be the pick of the crop.

It's a roller coaster ride from start to finish, with plenty of thrills to go with it. A movie with a great cast, script, acting and soundtrack makes for a great night in.

Danny is at his prime and plays your cliché'd movie villain with his usual style and hams it up and really has fun getting into character. Jackie Shroff is competent in his role but the true star here is Anil Kapoor. The term "Adem Jhakass!!" was born out of his crazy character in the movie, "Junior" and from start to finish, Anil carries the movie.

If you come across the DVD for Yudh, BUY IT!

This is a must for any half decent collector of quality cinema.