Yudh episode 2 review: Joker takes over Amitabh Bachchan

Despite its slow pace and obvious references to international TV shows, Amitabh Bachchan's TV series Yudh hangs on to the hype. Its pace picked up in the second episode, and so have the audience's expectations from Sony's newest offering.

First impressions need not be the last ones any more. If Amitabh Bachchan's Yudh on Sony TV proved to be a damp squib of sorts at the end of the first episode, what with its slow pace of introducing characters, the serial seems ready for a take off now. The plot is unveiling now, and yes, the villains are coming out.

Read Yudh episode one review: Big B impresses but the pace lags

What's usual about Yudh?
The first episode told us that Yudh is a passionate man -- passionate for his business and family's well-being. But these don't mask the issues he's struggling with: he is fighting a fatal disease, is torn between his two wives, wants to reign in a useless son who's either always playing video games or wastes his time partying on the pretext of planning investments, and has a brother-in-law who always finds himself to be on the wrong side of the law.

And then, to top it all, he has a bunch of business rivalries to deal with.

What's not?
Did you say there's nothing unusual in this plot? Wait! Sarika, Kay Kay Menon and Tigmanshu Dhulia too are there in the mix to add intrigue to the show. Yudh's screenplay, which seemed a little stretched in the first episode, picked up pace in the second, promising more drama in the forthcoming episodes.

The biggest pull, perhaps, is the joker whom Yudh keeps confronting regularly. Why is his mind playing games with him? Is he carrying some guilt from the past? We don't know yet, but the joker looks like a plot masterstroke: he entertains with his childlike voice, and is even intriguing since he lends words to Yudh's fears. Why so serious?

Despite its slow pace, Yudh has managed to pique our interest, and even built the anticipation. Here's waiting for the thrills and spills to unfold in this 20-episode serial.

Amitabh-Bachchan-unveils-the-poster-of-his-TV-fiction-series-Yudh-with-co-actors-Aahana-Kumra-and-Sarika-AP-Photo