Most Vishnuvardhan films invariably have certain common elements. Yatchan is no exception:
Arya – Check
Yuvan Shankar Raja – Check
‘Thala’ references – Check
Two leads – Check
Guns (lots of guns) – Check (albeit, not that many)
But what makes Yatchan stand out is the way the script is handled. When we think of Vishnuvardhan and a dual hero subject, we immediately think of bromance. Yatchan has none of that.
Yatchan is the story of Chinna (Arya) and Karthik (Kreshna, or Krishna), who land up in Chennai. One of them is running from a crime. The other wants to make it big as a movie star. How their paths cross and what effect it has on their lives is the story of Yatchan.
*****
Arya eases through his role as the carefree thug Chinna, an ardent ‘Thala’ rasigan. Arya is one of those actors who is confident within his personal acting limits. He’s smart enough to choose roles he can do justice to with his range of expressions. And he chooses wisely with Yatchan. The innumerable Ajith references in the film had the crowd cheering – from a Veeram FDFS, the Paalabishegam shots, Arrambam BGM. Like Vaalu, Yatchan is a film that can be an Ajith-film without Ajith actually being in it.
Krishna shines in his role as Karthik, a naïve small town man with dreams of becoming a cinema star. To date, this is the biggest role of his career and he makes the most of the opportunity to showcase his talents. His emotional scenes are convincing in creating pathos for a character who is thrown off track by a series of coincidences.
Swati Reddy could give Preity Zinta a run for her money, and her performance as Deepa, the hyperactive girlfriend of Krishna, is not only effortless but memorable. The chemistry between the two is endearing, albeit the dubbing for Swati seems a tad too high pitched in parts. Deepa Sannidhi plays an interesting character, Shweta, who sees the future when someone holds her hands. This peculiarity acts as an important plot device in the story. However, Deepa’s role is limited to looking helpless (except in the songs). Adil Hussain is convincing as the antagonist, barring a few lip sync glitches. Subbu Panchu, who has dubbed for Hussain, deserves special mention. Director Vishnuvardhan had recently stated at a press meet that he saw traits of the late Raghuvaran in Adil Hussain, and Hussain’s performance in the film certainly justifies the comparison with a rendition of Raghuvaran’s particular brand of restrained villainy.
*****
Vishnuvardhan’s previous films haven’t always handled comedy well. But Yatchan demonstrates excellent comic handling, with a bevy of comedians in the film including Thambi Ramaiah, RJ Balaji, Yogi Babu and interestingly Ponavannan as well. Thambi Ramaiah handles uniquely comic expressions and spot-on dialogues with ease. Crowd-favourite RJ Balaji infuses scenes with liveliness with phrases like ‘Bokkunu Kuthuven‘ ‘Mooku Mutha‘ and others, borrowed from his oh-so-popular radio show. Best of all, the interlacing of the comic with the main plot is refreshingly deft, unlike the usual slapdash additions. The songs are catchy, though at times detract from the pace of the film, as in the ‘Kakaponnu’ song, which is a celebration of Ponvannan passing his 12th standard exams.
Recommended
Special credit must go to cinematographer Om Prakash and the art department for making the two-colour tone (red for Arya and blue for Krishna) work. From their clothes, to the props to the ambience, the colours are maintained throughout the film. But, the real winners of Yatchan are writers SuBa and Vishnuvardhan, for converting the story into a screenplay that works so well on the big screen.
*****
Final takeaway. With a runtime of 2 hours and 40 mins, the makers could have trimmed some of the songs as well as the lengthy action sequences to keep the film crisp, But, barring that, Yatchan has all the elements to make it an entertaining watch, well worth the money.
*****
The Yatchan Review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.