Banner:
Sri Venkateswara Creations
Cast:
Ram Charan, Shruti Haasan, Allu Arjun, Kajal Agarwal,Amy Jackson
Direction:
Vamshi Paidipally
Production:
Dil Raju
Music:
Devi Sri Prasad
When one set of villains who are most of the time after beautiful women brandish guns at the drop of a hat and another set of villains who are into land-grabbing/forced displacement barely use a weapon other than swords, and yet the audience finds the film to be a commercial entertainer fit for consumption, it means the director has good amount of enviable talent.
Yevadu has not one but two revenge stories. The first revenge story has not much going for it – perhaps the director deemed it fit not to take it seriously. Followed by this no-brainer, there comes the film’s actual story, giving us respite and much-needed entertainment in good measure.
Giving away the premise of any of these two revenge stories would kill enthusiasm. What is in store in the first 15 minutes will keep you guessing. What is in store in the second story would be crystal clear to anyone who goes to watch ‘Yevadu’ after having watched the trailer involving Shruti Hassan and Sai Kumar N number of times by now.
A formulaic story with a small attraction attached to it, ‘Yevadu’ works fine for its target audiences (read B and C center ones). That Vamsi Paidipally is another director who rehashes the time-tested formula is clear when one witnesses a few regular elements in the second half (ironically, this is the film’s better half). How much unexceptional are some scenes, you ask? The villain is routinely ruthless enough to orchestrate vandalization of the poor men’s hearth and abductions of the hero’s near and dear in the hope of making him tremble with fear. The hero’s one big routine, unless when he is not dancing with his girlfriend, is beating the baddies to the pulp. ‘Yevadu’ is that routine.
That’s not to say that Yevadu has no exciting moments. For a plot that would have looked stale in any other director’s hands, Vamsi has treated the latter part with dexterity. Where the film comes a cropper is in the first half, a truly terrible experience at that.
Consider this: The one hero that we have until now lets his hair down with a girl in a coffee shop, he tortures a comedian by revealing his murderous plans for no purpose, he blackmails the comedian for reason. To make the matters worse, the enemies on his hit list are extremely vulnerable thanks to their libido or romantic heart or both. Convinced that the first revenge story is not important for him, the director makes up Ajay’s brief love affair as a college campus-like episode, making us curse the stupidity of including such frivolous ideas in an ostensibly serious film. It does take some time for us to understand that Vamsi’s hero is someone else and his main revenge story is yet to be unfolded.
On the face of it, ‘Yevadu’ is run-of-the-mill with no much novelty. What is the saving grace is the second half, where there are no unwelcome elements like forced comedy track or bad songs. Abburi Ravi’s crisp and evocative dialogue, well-choreographed fights, Sai Kumar’s villainy, Charan’s heroism and DSP’s peppy numbers keep us engaged. The second half is in sharp contrast to first half, which has no virtue other than DSP’s music.
The performances are all fine. Ram Charan’s acting comes across as different from what was seen in Naayak and Racha. Call it Vamsi’s directorial touch or Cherry’s maturing as an actor, he looks convincing enough here. Sai Kumar comes next in being a strong supporting actor. Although he has been the same actor for many years now, his baritone and domineering personality and aggressive persona are a treat to watch. Shruti Hassan looks gorgeous and one doesn’t feel like complaining even though all she does here is play the glam doll in a couple of super hit tracks. Amy Jackson is seen in a forgettable role. Jayasudha’s gloating over her son’s guts is another good feature. Rahul Dev, Ajay, Subbu Raju, Murali Sharma fit the bill. A huge bore is Brahmanandam. Far from making us laugh, he actually makes us want to go for Zandu Balm.
Allu Arjun’s cameo is effective. Kajal Agarwal emotes intensely in the few scenes in which she is seen.
Charan’s dance moves in the number ‘Freedom’ will be savoured by his fans. All the songs were picturized well. The ‘Ayyo Papam’ number and ‘Nee Jathaga’ are imaginative.
Technically, DSP’s BGM is satisfying. Shyam K Naidu’s cinematography is another high point.
The run-time is 2 hrs and 46 minutes.
Verdict: A boring first half followed by a gripping second half.