Yaan

Most of the successful directors in Tamil have reached their spot not because they come out with glossy and technically sound movies. They are there because of their ability to keep the audience pinned to their seat with their paperwork, which has to be coupled with good execution. Ravi K. Chandran dons the directorial hat for Yaan, and what could have been a superb debut falls short by a mile thanks to some absurd writing and amateur narration.

Yaan doesn’t begin on a bad note itself, the film starts off looking to be promising thanks to a decent action block followed by a breezy romance between the lead pair. Right from the intro, Jiiva carries the film on his shoulders, be it comedy, action, expressions or the liveliness. It is really astounding to see how jovial this guy is, as he keeps the film going whenever he’s onscreen. The film has its chances to get better, but Ravi spoils it with his unnecessary addition of commercial elements which eventually turn out being an overdose. The attention given to make the film feel like a glossy Bollywood romcom turns out to mar the flow of events which make the viewer squirm. The director keeps the main plot to himself until the interval block, from where the film falls from the watchable level it attained, and finally turns out to be an unintentional comic. The second half is mundane, be it the premise, events or the action sequences which are a hush. Adding to the agony, there is a song in pathos, and another one at the height of a pitiful moment. When the film ends, I was happy. Happy that I could board a bus back home.

If Yaan does have a silver lining, it is Jiiva. Brimming with energy, Jiiva is the live wire in movie. Though the narration fails to excite you, this guy is your consolation prize for buying a ticket. It might be too early for Thulasi Nair to be the mainstream Kollywood heroine, but she does fit the bill to extent. Moreover, this is a commercial film and we don’t need a heroine who actually knows to act. Thulasi with a handful of expressions is adequate, you might think. Nawab Shah as the villain is of no use, and turns out to be nothing more than a Bollywood puppet brought in to make the cast sheet look good. The supporting cast is neat, but you did expect better from veterans like JP and Nassar.

Manush Nandan does a superb job with the lens, especially in the song sequences which ooze with colors. At a runtime of 156 minutes, the film does test your patience and better cuts could have given it a shot at being engaging. The much-hyped action sequences choreographed by the men who worked in ‘Inception’ do not manage to light a spark and end up being an eyesore. In fact, there are no interesting action scenes except for the first run with Jiiva and Thulasi. And yes, was the film shot in Morocco or ‘Basilistaan’?

Harris Jayaraj’s middling music gets some appreciable picturisation, but the song placements do really make them turn into walkout breaks. While his BGM makes you ‘wow’ at places, at the others it is downright awkward.

Ravi K. Chandran came up with a fairly appealing premise. It’s just that the film is contrived in such a way that it tries too hard to be a classy commercial, and ends up being a complete mess. The action blocks are forced, the romance lacks the feel, and logic goes for a toss. Yaan is all bright, but no beauty. It would be great to see the director going back to what he does best, cinematography. 

Wannabe glossy commercial which goes berserk!

2 / 5