BOTTOM LINE
This Yaman Kills Audience
OUR RATING
2.25/5
CENSOR
‘U’ Certified, 153 mins.
What is the film about?
The movie is about a character Ashok Chakravarthy. His journey from simpleton to a good and bar owner and finally a politician is basically the film’s plot.
How is Vijay Antony’s performance?
There is absolutely no change in what Vijay Antony has been doing in the past few films, as far as performance is concerned. He has one serious expression plastered on his face for all the situations except comedy and casual conversation where he relaxes a bit. He doesn’t have the image or charisma of big hero to carry the larger than life portrayals. However, he has been clever enough to conceal this negative by selecting a suitable subject. Yaman is a perfect example of that in most parts.
Direction By Jeevan Shankar?
Jeeva Shankar has to be blamed here as a director for making such an unexciting film out of the content he has. Not that he had a groundbreaking stuff but there are enough moments in the script that could make for an engaging view. All he had to do was string them together to create an engaging flow. But he fails miserably in that department.
Yaman goes on and on and on to reach a predictable end and that’s the film’s biggest flaw. The narration is boring and inconsistent. There is a high moment and what follows immediately brings in down several notches. The entire track involving the heroine or the beginning, it all could have been edited out and still, nothing would have been missed.
The first half of the film is the typical rise of an ordinary guy to a powerful one. The hero elevation moments are there for all to see but the impact of those scenes is zero. The second half feels like a different film, one which many had expected, which is why it feels passable. Overall it is a below average fare with very few redeemable moments.
Miya George and others?
Mia George has very little to do in the film despite not having a conventional heroine role. As said above even if she was not present in the movie one wouldn’t have missed her at all. The rest of the actors are perfectly cast for their roles. Thiagarajan is good as the guiding force. Swaminathan has few scenes but he barely registers. Charle is fine. G Marimuthu is wasted. Sangili Murugan has a scene and he is fine in it. Prinz Nithik and others have a scene or two and they are decent in it.
Music and other departments?
Music by Vijay Antony is bad but he makes up for it with terrific background score. The cinematography by director Jeeva Shankar is neat. Editing should have been way better. Dialogues are okay in Telugu dubbing.
Highlights?
Hero elevation blocks
Casting
BGM
Drawbacks?
Screenplay
Length
Heroine track
Alternative Take
In the golden period of director Ram Gopal Varma in Bollywood, he had made many films as director and producer with similar backdrops. Yaman would have been an infinitely better film had it been made with the same sharpness as one of those films.
Did I enjoy it?
No.
Will you recommend it?
No.
Yaman Review by Siddhartha Toleti
