युद्ध

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, a perfect TV show for the off-beat Indian audience who prefers class over typical Bollywood masala.

Amitabh with his great facial expressions is best so far, he is playing an honest builder surrounding with corrupt builders and officials. The show is dark and intense. Everything is happening at a perfect pace with no time for random drama which we usually see in most of the Indian Television shows. All six episodes till now, were directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, who doesn't have a big name in the industry. But, with this work he is surely going to get many projects in the future. The most interesting part associated with this series is Anurag Kashyap. He has this talent of making drama and thriller more intense with his input.

Although I believe, they should have invested more in the advertisements because people are not very much aware of this.

Overall, this is what Indian Television viewers needed, enough of daily soaps now.

Yudh has been good, intriguing and has kept us guessing so far, it is not exceptional and it does have flaws in its narrative, but it is such a welcome break from the same old Saas Bahu fare you are offered by all the Indian channels. The casting of the actors for the show is quite spot-on and they fit their roles perfectly. It's a pity that the show is aired so late, way past prime time else it would have grabbed a lot more eyeballs from the younger Indian audience. With TV Series like Yudh, 24 and Powder there is still some hope for the Hindi TV industry. It is not easy to support and put your weight behind such projects when you don't get much support. Kudos to the makers and the studios backing these projects for daring to break the generic mould.

Hope this is a new beginning for the Hindi TV industry!!!

Good storyline, exceptional acting, simple clothes, no gory makeups, superb editing, no shocking sets, fast moving after the initial episodes make this a standout Hindi mini-serial. Yes it may look a bit complicated to start with (likes most series introducing the storyline) but after a few episodes it is not an issue.

Some of the scenes are fantastic in that there is nothing said.....only expressions and the slick editing takes you to the next scene....no explanation needed like in the saas bahu trash soaps.

All the actors have performed very well and stand shoulder to shoulder with Amitabh in making this serial a triumph with Anurag Khasyap & co directing.

There are a good few social issues touched from time to time in the serial quietly in the background for the viewers to take it on. The 3 crores per episode price tag for each episode shows in every episode with everything being top class.

Hope they extend it into series 2 and 3.....

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.