Yutham Sei

Intelligent movies have become a rarity in Indian Cinema over a period with Producers not willing to take risks in executing a new genre of cinema. Instead, they concentrate on tried and tested stories with established stars who are nothing but cash cows for the Producers. Though, Yudham Sei is not the first serial-killer Indian Film, this particular genre can still be considered as virgin as compared to various cinema's of the same genre outside India. The movie takes its own time in establishing the story, which is where one might go a little off track. But, my sincere request is to sit through the initial phase before the story actually catches pace after which there is no looking back.

This is my first Myshkin film and I am already in look out to watch his other two films Nandalala and Anjathe. The director has ensured that the story and its characters are focused in investigating the killing and not swaying away from its topic by adding pointless humor by a comedian after every 20 minutes or a song and dance sequence, which normally happens in Tamil Films, in order to release the heaviness. This proves that the story had enough meat in itself to justify the runtime of the movie.

Cheran (JK) an intelligent but emotionally weak cop, who is unofficially searching for his missing sister (reason for being emotionally weak), is forcefully assigned to investigate a string of patterned murders in the city of Chennai. Will JK be able to crack the code and understand the motive behind such heinous murders by reading between the lines? Will he be able to find his missing sister is what the story is all about.

Cheran looks focused and makes us believe that he can pull this case off. Especially, the scene where he convincingly battles a dozen of goons with a nail cutter on a foot over bridge. The content is the main hero in this film supported by some very interesting characters. Apart from Cheran (JK), there is another character Judas (Jayaprakash), who adds life to the small part played by him.

I would recommend anyone who is into character and content driven movies to grab a copy of Yudham Sei even if you are not a Tamilian as it is worth investing 2 hours of your time.

The general consensus of Yudham Sei: "An edge of the seat thriller." I agree with the choice of words. I was actually on the edge of my seat contemplating on walking out of the theatre. That was thrilling, compared to the film.

Yudham Sei is self-indulgent pretentious garbage that I wouldn't watch even if I was to get paid for it. Homeless beggars would rather sleep on the streets than sleep in an air-conditioned theatre that screens the film. Director Mysskin has tried too hard to make a powerful film by playing with the audience's emotions. With the film he shocks, provokes, inserts twists, milks sentiment as and when he wishes.

The lead character is J.Krishnamoorthy. He runs fast, he takes on eight people with a penknife and wears leather shoes. The man is labeled as a "good" guy. That's how the central character of the film is written. He has hardly any depth. All you know is that he is "the best police officer" and that he wants to find his kidnapped sister. How are we to understand him and his wants? He is glorified by making every other character around him seem insensitive. This is the limit of Mysskin's talent. He might be able to capture and invert beautiful shots of cobwebs, cardboard boxes, watermelons, snakes, skies, lampposts and water, in various colors of light, but a consummation of all that doesn't qualify as a film. It's no more than a power point presentation of google image search results.

You know right from the beginning that it's a talented crew and they could be good at what they do. Unfortunately, they're in the wrong hands. Mysskin uses them in all the wrong ways. He has an eye for detail but not the honesty of an artist. He goes to the extent of making a direct reference to Rashomon by using the film's name. It wasn't a tribute or a token of appreciation; it was a shameless attempt at letting the audience know that he's someone with international exposure to films. As if we've forgotten about him not giving credit to the original material that Nandalala was adapted from. Mysskin has low self esteem, he doesn't have faith in his script and therefore he tries to get the music to drive the film. Newcomer K certainly has talent but it's the truth, everyone has to start at the bottom.

The screenplay is laughable. It's so horribly contrived. Half the story is narrated by a nearly dead man who laughs and drinks despite having two bullets lodged in his intestine. The characters keep doing things that are out of character. Mysskin, the director should never hire Mysskin, the screenwriter again. From Mysskin's films, it's pretty obvious that he's a film-maker only because he wants to be one, not because he enjoys making films. It's shabbily overdone and the visual metaphors just make it worse. Yudham Sei is like eating a burger filled with just mayonnaise. You're going to feel like throwing up. I could write another thousand words about why the film sucks so hard, but I'm going to spare you of that. It's poison. Stay away from it.

Rating – 0/10

This movie plot is adapted from S.Korean movie "Akmareul Boatda" (I saw the Devil) released in 2010 directed by renowned Korean director Woon Kim-Jee. Though the story is different, the main plot remains the same. Myshkin has done his homework and intervened a new storyline to the source. There are lot of movies coming out in Tamil with interesting themes. I think its time to doubt almost all the Tamil directors who churn out innovative movies. Interesting part is that the background score usage is also inspired from the parent movie. Nothing wrong in inspiring, we can observe and learn the technical sides, storytelling methods and all those sort of things from International movies. I think Cheran was a mis-fit in this role.

well...when you have a plot driven script, Indian movies fail to etch out the characters clearly. One can always argue that the characters are not as significant as the plot and does not require much development.

guess that is Mysskin's argument via Yutham Sei. A non-linear narrative, a dark setting, lots of blood and gore are its chief constituents. However, you cannot relate to the protagonist or to much of the cast of characters. In some instances it seems that the writer has deliberately thrown in complicated sequences just to increase the audience's intrigue. In others, the state police's confusion as to why the killings are going on and who is doing them, seems genuine. Whatever be the case, the film is definitely worth a watch.

Cheran's acting is mature and he does a neat job. Jayaprakash (Dr Judas) is perfectly cast to suit the character and he does his part well too. Lakshmi Ramakrishnan's acting in the climax is commendable while the under-utilized veteran, YG Mahendran shows that even a few screen moments are sufficient for him to create an impact. Cinematography is quite good but the background music tends to irritate in some scenes. Thankfully, the director does not leave any loose ends at the close and manages to fairly interest the audience throughout.

Small films are making it big in the Indian Film Industry these days and Yutham Sei rides with that tag. By no means is this a great movie, many would call it a very good film but I will say this - For the tamil movie goer who has wasted precious time and money on disgusting movies, this will be a relief. So grab that popcorn and enjoy !

The movie portrays a dark theme and tries to justify violence as a means to curtail crime that are not really effectively handled in the legislature of the country. Leaving aside whether I buy the argument or not, there isn't a good attempt made in the first place. Screenplay is too slow for what could have been an excellent thriller. The plot has enough details and has been etched meticulously. The characters are not, unfortunately. Music by first timer K uses strings well but nothing notable otherwise. Mysskin's characteristic trademark shots like focusing on the feet of the characters and a "dapanguthu" song with some female model showing her hip movements wearing yellow saree and all have grown to irk you. Would be nice if he gives a break to these. Overall, a good movie that could have been great. Definitely doesn't meet the bar that the director set himself with Chithiram Pesadhadi or Anjaadey. Would love to see more such original themes though.