Starring: : Sachin, Sunaina. Direction: R. Balakumar
Music: James Vasanthan
Production: Chozha Creations (P) LTD
A film that dwells exclusively on one emotion – love. That is what the makers of Yathumaagi have promised and that is what they have delivered. ‘Thigatta Thigatta Kaadhal’, is the tagline that has been used. So, does the movie make you choke on love or is it a delectable fare? Yathumaagi tells the story of a girl who just doesn’t know how to express her love and a boy who doesn’t realize her love for him. This might seem like a pretty familiar premise; unexpressed love. But, the screenplay has been handled in such a way that there are twists at regular intervals which prevent monotony from setting in. The girl (Sunaina) falls in love with her neighbor (debutante Sachin). But, she is unable to convey her love to him. And, she leaves it until too late. Something done by the boy with pretty innocent intentions are construed as an unscrupulous act which leads to a big misunderstanding between the two. The love story, which might have just
begun to bloom, is nipped in the bud. But, destiny is not ready to finish this story just as yet. Even after the boy and girl are separated emotionally and geographically, a rather coincidental turn of events makes them come across each other once again. Time heals the earlier misunderstanding. Does love bloom again? At the outset, Yathumaagi is a simple love story and the good thing about it is that the movie does not try to do too much else. But, there are problems. The most important fact is that the romance of the lead pair does not seem to have that special feeling when depicted on screen. In an out-and-out romantic flick, this can be a big weakness. Also, the twists that crop up at regular intervals, though helpful in keeping the viewer guessing, seem a bit forced and familiar at times. There is a bit of déjà vu at points in the movie, reminding us of the many melodramatic love stories that we have seen over the years. But, there are no glaring similarities to any movie of the past. Having said that, one cannot accuse the movie of boring the viewer for too long at any point of time. However, the one thing that can prove to be an absolute irritant is Riyaz Khan’s character. At the start of the movie, one thinks that he is a significant player in the story. But, when things are revealed, one feels frustrated and cheated beyond redemption. The character looks like one forced into the script just to keep the viewer guessing about the various probabilities. A few scenes here and there look unfinished and disjointed. But, overall, one cannot deny the ‘feel good’ factor that emanates to an extent from this love story. Sunaina is a perfect fit for the character that she plays, a simple girl from an orthodox family. She looks good on screen and emotes well. Sachin too is a good choice for the role though there is not much scope for him to prove his histrionic potential. He will need a few more good roles to establish his potential. Apart from these two characters, others look like fringe players in the movie and do not have too much of a bearing. Technically, the movie passes muster. The camera does justice to the needs of the movie. The music too is adequate, but could have been placed and used better in the movie. Picturisation of all songs is pretty good, though not delightful. Two of them, Yaarodu Yaaro and Kaadhala stand out. Yathumaagi is a simple love story with twists regularly interspersing the narrative that keeps one alert. But, the relatively relaxed pace of narration, non-electric chemistry of the lead pair and a few forced additions like Riyaz Khan’s character are dampeners. But, debutante director Balakumar must be commended on giving a neat and clean movie without too many extraneous elements like comedy tracks or glamour.
A film that dwells exclusively on one emotion – love. That is what the makers of Yathumaagi have promised and that is what they have delivered. ‘Thigatta Thigatta Kaadhal’, is the tagline that has been used. So, does the movie make you choke on love or is it a delectable fare? Yathumaagi tells the story of a girl who just doesn’t know how to express her love and a boy who doesn’t realize her love for him. This might seem like a pretty familiar premise; unexpressed love. But, the screenplay has been handled in such a way that there are twists at regular intervals which prevent monotony from setting in. The girl (Sunaina) falls in love with her neighbor (debutante Sachin). But, she is unable to convey her love to him. And, she leaves it until too late. Something done by the boy with pretty innocent intentions are construed as an unscrupulous act which leads to a big misunderstanding between the two. The love story, which might have just
begun to bloom, is nipped in the bud. But, destiny is not ready to finish this story just as yet. Even after the boy and girl are separated emotionally and geographically, a rather coincidental turn of events makes them come across each other once again. Time heals the earlier misunderstanding. Does love bloom again? At the outset, Yathumaagi is a simple love story and the good thing about it is that the movie does not try to do too much else. But, there are problems. The most important fact is that the romance of the lead pair does not seem to have that special feeling when depicted on screen. In an out-and-out romantic flick, this can be a big weakness. Also, the twists that crop up at regular intervals, though helpful in keeping the viewer guessing, seem a bit forced and familiar at times. There is a bit of déjà vu at points in the movie, reminding us of the many melodramatic love stories that we have seen over the years. But, there are no glaring similarities to any movie of the past. Having said that, one cannot accuse the movie of boring the viewer for too long at any point of time. However, the one thing that can prove to be an absolute irritant is Riyaz Khan’s character. At the start of the movie, one thinks that he is a significant player in the story. But, when things are revealed, one feels frustrated and cheated beyond redemption. The character looks like one forced into the script just to keep the viewer guessing about the various probabilities. A few scenes here and there look unfinished and disjointed. But, overall, one cannot deny the ‘feel good’ factor that emanates to an extent from this love story. Sunaina is a perfect fit for the character that she plays, a simple girl from an orthodox family. She looks good on screen and emotes well. Sachin too is a good choice for the role though there is not much scope for him to prove his histrionic potential. He will need a few more good roles to establish his potential. Apart from these two characters, others look like fringe players in the movie and do not have too much of a bearing. Technically, the movie passes muster. The camera does justice to the needs of the movie. The music too is adequate, but could have been placed and used better in the movie. Picturisation of all songs is pretty good, though not delightful. Two of them, Yaarodu Yaaro and Kaadhala stand out. Yathumaagi is a simple love story with twists regularly interspersing the narrative that keeps one alert. But, the relatively relaxed pace of narration, non-electric chemistry of the lead pair and a few forced additions like Riyaz Khan’s character are dampeners. But, debutante director Balakumar must be commended on giving a neat and clean movie without too many extraneous elements like comedy tracks or glamour.
Verdict: Love story: neither endears nor repels
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