A lot has been written, tweeted and posted about megastar Amitabh Bachchan's TV series debut "Yudh", which went on air on 14 July.
The much-anticipated pilot episode didn't reveal much, except for the tiny bit of information that Bachchan's Yudhishtir Sikarwar is dying of terminal illness and has to set things right before he runs out of time.
Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the TV drama is upheld by a reputed cast of character actors including Kay Kay Menon, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Sarika.
While the actors' performances have been lauded, most critics complained of the sluggish pace of the show. Estimated reportedly at ₹3 crore per episode, this thriller marks Bachchan's fiction debut on television.
With Anurag Kashyap as the creative head and Shoojit Sircar as the creative consultant, "Yudh" is set to fight the stale saas-bahu dramas.
Aniruddha Guha of DNA India writes, "The first episode, at least, seems heavily inspired from Boss, and it would be a real pity if the show, we are hoping will be a saviour for Indian television, turns out to be a work of plagiarism."
"The biggest reason why I'll watch all the episodes of Yudh is -- Amitabh Bachchan, and his bravura performance," said Jyoti Sharma Bawa of Hindustan Times. "As a builder, who believes in doing the right thing, and is not afraid to fight the corrupt, he is amazing. As the enigmatic family man who suffers from a neuro-psychological ailment, he piques your interest."
"We expected a little more of the plot to open up in the first episode, but it did not," Bollywood Life reports, "And it made the episode a bit confusing. So Yudh is like a Pandora box waiting to be opened. You will have to watch it to know it."
"With director Ribhu Banerjee clearly influenced by Breaking Bad -- the entire first half-hour seems made up of pauses, grunts and deliberations, with the occasional cough thrown in -- things are slow off the mark, a bit too slow," viewed Raja Sen of Rediff.
