Yudh

To start with I would say that I was not very excited about this series. I usually don't watch TV series, especially typical Indian daily soap (Saas bahu drama). I thought it was an attempt to market average content using BigB's name. But just for name sake I gave it a chance and started watching from the second episode. I continued it with watching 3-4 too and I soon realized it was not an average TV serial. It's dark for an Indian TV show. Almost every scene drives the story forward without any melodrama. Characters are very real and believable, not to mention backed by some high quality performance one does not get to see in TV series. A great psychological thriller where politics and rivalries feel real and dirty. If you are planning to follow this series my suggestion would be to give it a chance and watch the first few episodes (at-least first 4), then only real plot and depth of story is revealed. Watching just one or two episodes you might just dismiss it with nothing special. One great thing I like about the series is that almost every character gets good screen time accompanied with their own stories which blend well with the original plot. Before starting to watch the series I thought it would be all about AB in every scene and how heroically he faces every situation. Thank god the series is so different from that. Each character comes out as hero in their own right. My personal favorites are performances from Zakir Hussain (Anand) and Aahana Kurma (Taruni). Do watch this series and you would soon realize you have not made a wrong choice.

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.

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 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.

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.