Yennai Arindhaal

 

When a film stars someone who has one of the largest fan following throughout the country, it becomes a herculean task to satisfy their needs. One probable thing that separates Ajith from his competitors is, his competitors do quite a few films to please their fans and are forced to cater only them after a certain point. Ajith on the other hand has the liberty to try anything and then make his fans like it. That’s the mantra that Yennai Arindhaal follows too.

YA sports a stellar cast of talents including Arun Vijay, Trisha, Anushka, Vivek and Parvathi Nair. Away from the frame, music is taken care by Harris Jayaraj. Dan Macarthur makes his debut in Tamil industry after his work behind the lens for the Hindi flick, Go Goa Gone. GVM’s favourite, Anthony has dealt with the editing.

YA is a match made in heaven that involves a mass actor and a class director. The story revolves around Sathyadev, a cop who has to rub shoulders with the wrong people in the name of profession. How is affects him and the ones around him forms the crux of YA. Ajith has given one of his best yet subtle performances ever. There is no mass scenes, no punch dialogues and almost no exaggeration in portraying the lead role. He breezes through as a gentle lover, a soulful father, a caring colleague and a daring cop. Ajith’s performance is bold and he perfectly fits the array of emotions he has to display. His transformation in different scenes flows without any hiccups. Arun Vijay on the other end has given one of his best performances till date. A versatile actor who needed a big break, Arun plays the role of Victor, a ruthless criminal who has a thirst for vengeance. His stature and physique moulds him perfectly for the role and his talents in acting and action shines throughout the film. There hasn’t been a film before YA that has shown Trisha so beautifully. Though her role that can be termed as an extended cameo, she has done it amazingly well. Anushka on the other hand has very little to do even though she travels the length of the film. There is very little scope to showcase her talents. Rest of the cast members share a very little screen space within which Vivek and Parvathy Nair have done their best.

On the plus side we have the protagonist and antagonist giving one of their best acting. GVM’s style of direction roars through the entire film. His usual style such as the independent, self standing heroines, a not so larger than life hero and an equally terrifying villain are all very much present. One cannot help comparing YA with his earlier cop flicks, Kaakha Kaakha and Vettaiyadu Vilayadu. Though there are resemblances, they are very faint and gets easily overpowered by Ajith’s screen presence. The cameo of Nassar and Daniel Balaji are impressive. Stunt scenes look very real and there is no high flying scenes.The subtle yet powerful performance of Ajith stands as the biggest plus for YA. His charming looks and his charisma shines from the start till end.

On the negative end, the length of the film is almost 3 hrs. The first half was lengthy and it takes time for the story to start rolling. The flashback scenes were even slower. Fortunately the second half was brisk. The script, overall is simple and predictable. Harris did a decent job with the songs but he could have done much better with the BGMs. The magic that the chemistry of Harris and GVM’s bond is missing. There wasn’t anything special with Dan’s cinematography. Screenplay and editing could have been much sharper.

Overall, Yennai Arindhaal has shown a different side of both the hero and villain. GVM’s cop trilogy ends with a marvelous film that has his style written all over it. Ajith hasn’t looked so handsome and young for quite a while and his change of personality in each scene shows his prowess. Arun Vijay has finally got a film to showcase his skills and this film will definitely be a breakthrough in his career. The pace and screenplay might not be suitable for all and similar to GVM’s other films, this too will cater majorly to the A centers.

YENNAI ARINDHAAL:- Thalai saayatha vetri !!!