Yodha (2024 film)

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After an international flight is hijacked, an officer on Task Force Yodha faces a daunting challenge.

• Sidharth Malhotra as Arun Katyal, an army soldier and a member of the Yodha Task Force
• Raashii Khanna as Priyamvada "Priya" Katyal, Arun's wife
• Disha Patani as Laila Khalid, a flight attendant
• Ronit Roy as Major Surender Katyal, Arun's father and the founder of the Yodha Task Force
• Tanuj Virwani as Sameer Khan
• Sunny Hinduja as Jalal, Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist
• Kritika Bhardwaj as Tanya Sharma
• S. M. Zaheer as Anuj Nair
• Chittaranjan Tripathy as S N Dhingra
• Farida Patel Venkat as Mrs. Katyal, Arun's mother
• Mikhail Yawalkar as Ahmed Khalid
• Sanjay Gurbaxani as Indian Head of State^[a]

The film is inspired by the various aircraft hijackings in Indian history, particularly Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999.^[10] Principal photography began on 27 November 2021 and would go on to include shootings in Delhi, Bhopal, Manali, Pune and Ladakh.^[11][12][13] On 18 December 2021, Raashii Khanna and Disha Patani were announced as the leading actresses.^[14][15] In December 2021, Patani wrapped up her portion of the shoot and wrote a rap song for Badshah.^[16][17] In March 2022, Raashii Khanna wrapped up her portions.^[18] Later, Tanuj Virwani was cast in a prominent role.^[19]

The music of the film is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra, B Praak, Aditya Dev and John Stewart Eduri while lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir, Jaani, Kunaal Vermaa, Vishal Mishra and Kaushal Kishore.^[20] The first single titled "Zindagi Tere Naam" was released on 24 February 2024.^[21] The second single titled "Tere Sang Ishq Hua" was released on 7 March 2024.^[22]

Yodha received mixed reviews from critics.^[25] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 58% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10.^[26]

Bollywood Hungama critic gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Yodha is not the usual hijack film and features a fine performance; however, it is quite technical and confusing."^[27] NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee rated the film 1.5/5 and wrote "No matter how lenient you might want to be and how much of a Sidharth Malhotra fan you are, this pulpy action movie is a bumpy ride that lurches from one misstep to another."^[28]

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave 2.5/5 stars and observed "A light-footed Sidharth single-handedly going at the baddies is a slick sight. Armed in swag, sunglasses and slow motion, the man is more than fit for the job. And it's on his charm and rugged shoulders that Yodha shamelessly rests".^[29]

Anupama Chopra, in her review for Film Companion said that "Yodha is a cheesy, chest-thumping, low-on-logic thriller that rides brazenly to a crowd-pleasing finale, mostly on the shoulders of a solid Sidharth Malhotra."^[30] Rishil Jogani of Pinkvilla rated the film 2.5/5 and opined that "Yodha has redeemable qualities and offers thrills too but the film in totality is a tiresome watch, full of clichés, cheesy dialogues and overused tropes."^[31]

The marketing of the film included a tie-in comic by Pratilipi Comics, Adventures of Yodha: The Case of the Missing Ship, written by Akash Pathak and illustrated by Ayantika Roy.^[32]