| Production: | Ruben Gomas  Vinayan’s ‘Yakshiyum Njaanum’ has elicited tremendous response for varied reasons…the primary one being that it is the first film from Vinayan after his long tug of war with the various filmy organizations of Mollywood. Two, the pre-release hype, the frenzy in the media, the various associated problems like release and censoring has kept ‘Yakshiyum Njaanum’ constantly in news. The movie is one-of-its-kind horror-romantic comedy to be shot in RED cameras, with a big chunk of footage devoted to VFX. Then there was the launch of plenty of youngsters like Goutham, Richy, Meghna and Jubil, who were for the first time on the screen. Added to that, a flurry of first timers in technical departments and most importantly, the launch of Sajan Madhav, late music maestro, Raveendran’s son as music director. All this has helped Vinayan to set the movie for the best release this Onam in more than seventy centers. But the big question was that, will the movie work for this Onam? The answer may be a partial nod which can fall for both ways. Scripted by the director, the movie admittedly has plenty of rough edges, and viewers accustomed to Vinayan’s scheme of proceedings may get interested, but for others this may end up as a not so happening flick filled with plenty of mass masala elements and visual effects. And speaking about special effects – it may work only if a movie has a rock-solid base: Content. Unfortunately, ‘Yakshiyum Njaanum’ gives more preference to special effects, while the writing takes a complete backseat. The movie has Goutham as Shyam, a recently recruited member of a quotation gang, who is trying to make big money instantly for the heart operation of his sister. He secretly grabs one assignment -to kill a guy who is in love with the daughter of a state minister. Shyam accomplishes his mission and is sent to an old guest house to hide from media for quite some time. As usual, the idleness with this haunted house makes Shyam to look for some company in Aathira, a girl from the neighborhood, who passes by the guest house to take bath in the nearby river. Shyam falls in love with Aathira, but it is later that he realizes that Aathira is a Yakshi, who has plenty of back stories associated with this house. Many twists later, Shyam is now left to take revenge on many including those who have ill-mannered with Aathira to finally make her a blood thirsty Yakshi. Then, there are plenty of horrifying serpents, black cats and dark hounds and sound effects sprinkled all through to create the necessary ambiance of a horror movie. Director Vinayan is letdown this time, by his own script with plenty of loose ends. Given a title and plot like this, the film ought to evoke strong emotions, at least towards the second hour, when the romantic developments take its central points. But technical wizardry and VFX dominate this hour, with no emotional moments to evoke any reactions. Actually, your heart does not pine for the lovers and that's why this horror love story hardly creates any impact. Added to that the newly finds desperately try to put in some form of acting, which is hardly seen on screen. The protagonist played by Gowtham maintains a wooden face all through and don’t interest us. His dubbing is total mayhem. So is the case of the other newcomers like Ricky and Jubil. The only silver line in the movie is Meghna Nair who comes as the Yakshi. Though not reluctant to go for plenty of skin show, she is also adequate and impressive in acting too, which holds the movie. The actress is expected to find greener pastures in the south soon. The other television stars, who comes in various roles to elicit laughter fails big-time, and their buffoonery is quite a big headache in the proceedings. Senior stars Thilakan, Captain raju and Maala Aravindan play safe in regular roles. The technical side of the movie is very good. Nawaz impresses with his frames and tones and captures the best for his songs. Another sure name in the list of promising Malayalee cinematographers, this young man is got to go. Pradeep Emily in editing and Shajahan’s art direction also impresses and remains the soul of this fast paced flick. Debutant Sajan Madhav’s music is tuneful. All of his songs have the potential to become chart toppers though ‘Vrindaavanamundo’, ‘Ponamame’ and ‘Anuragayamuna’ stand out. Special effects are topnotch, matching international standards. On the whole, ‘Yakshiyum Njaanum’ rests on a thin unimpressive plot and poor performances from the major leads, which would curtail its reach to a major extent. |
