New Delhi: When in 2000, Amitabh Bachchan took on the host's position for Siddhartha Basu's 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', it proved to be a turning point for not just Bachchan but also for Indian television.
Bachchan in some way was responsible for heralding a new era in Indian television. Thanks to Big B, the small screen industry suddenly became lucrative for most film stars. Big B's popularity also grew leaps and bounds post the success of KBC, he was able to resurrect his fading career in Bollywood and again cemented his place in the superstar category.
More than a decade later, Bachchan decides to venture into the small screen again- this time as a part of a fiction show 'Yudh'. But while KBC had struck an instant chord with the viewers- perhaps due to its basic format- the fiction show is a damper from the word go.
The show starts with a close up shot of Amitabh Bachchan's face covered with sweat- which becomes a pattern of sorts throughout the first episode with Bachchan, dressed in suits, sweating profusely in almost all scenes.
The story is, of course, centered on the superstar who plays a high profile builder based in Ghaziabad. The man speaks less, is mostly very glum, has two wives, children, and is hallucinating about clowns and empty halls- he suffers from neuropsychological disorder.
While the story is yet to unfold properly, the pace at which each character is being established, each sub-plot being narrated, is rather leisurely. Of course being a daily soap, the makers can afford to such a thing but too much silence, too many close-ups, dim lights made the first episode a tedious affair.
While I am glad that the show has a more realistic approach with characters not dramatizing every word and no one wearing a kilometer long 'sindoor' on their forehead like we see in most serials, the first episode does leave too many questions unanswered. Why is Yudh (Bachchan) so glum all the time? Why is he hallucinating about clowns? And more importantly why is he sweating all the time? Someone ask him to take of the damn silk jacket, no?
The screenplay is slow and rather boring and the most scenes are shot in dim light making the entire thing look all the more morbid. But in spite of a tepid screenplay, Bachchan manages to make the character his own. He plays the rich builder, a patriarch struggling with his own issues with much ease. Perhaps because by now, Bachchan has played similar characters in several of his films and aced it.
Since Bachchan is playing the lead role, and Anurag Kashyap and Shoojit Sircar are helming the project- it has other film actors playing cameos in the show. The first episode saw Kay Kay Menon (hope his character gets more screentime), Mona Vasu, Zakir Hussain and Tigmanshu Dhulia in small roles. Sarika, Nawazuddin Siddiqui are likely to join the cast soon.
Timed at 10:30 at night, the first episode of 'Yudh' fails to strike a chord or raise any kind of interest. It's slow, tedious, obscure and dull. But then there are many more episodes to come and with an impressive cast and crew on borad- who knows, 'Yudh' might change the face of Indian Television once again.
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