Yaathisai Movie Review

As regards Historical Movies, they were produced more during the black & white era in Tamil Cinema history. The production of historic movies reduced gradually.

However, following the monstrous hit, the Telugu Movie Bahubali, Ponniyin Selvan-1 was released in Tamil. Following Ponniyin Selvan, another movie in the historical genre, ‘Yathisai’ is released. Though the budget and the star cast are not on the sales of Ponniyin Selvan, even as the trailer was released, this movie Yathisai caught the attention of many!

As such, the production team has been outstandingly successful in making a huge historical movie at a far lower budget.

This movie will now establish the Director Dharani Rajendran giving him a special place and identity! It has been possible for the production team to produce a movie on such a low budget, that too, with mostly new faces, to come out with such an excellent high-quality film!

So. It is quite possible, that more producers will come forward with the highest budget movies to this director Dharani Rajendran! The Director has produced Yathisai to reflect the Pandiyan King Ranadheeran defeating the Cheras, Cholas and Pallavas during glorious periods of the Pandiyan Dynasty and rules from the Chola Land the territories captured. The tribe known as ‘Auinars’ Aare driven by this king to a far-off dry land and are upset strongly.

The head of this tribe, Kodhi, finds the Chola people hiding and living in the forest and promises them that he will defeat the Pandian King Ranadheeran He asks them to assist him in this effort. Accordingly, they join and make a sudden attack on King Ranadheeran and defeat him! King Ranadheeran asks for refuge from the tribes in the forest, known as ‘Perumpulligal’. The story of the movie picks up from this point!

The story of the film happens in the 7th Century AD. As such, the setting depicting the life of the tribe ‘Aimers’ is entirely so convincing to make us believe they would have lived like this only!

Apart from the convincing sets, all the actors, most of them new faces, have all performed so convincingly well under his direction!

Actor Sakthi Mithras has performed in the role of the Pandian King Ranadheeran. He makes his appended only after the interval! Till this point, only hearsay is made about the Pandian King and his greatness! However, once he is presented on the screen, the action is that – being attacked by the Aimers, he has to run away! Upset and angered by this defeat, Pandian King Ranadheeran vows that he will fight and defeat the Ainers. Actor Sakthi Mithras has performed wonderfully well in this role!

Actor Seyon has performed in the role of the leader of the Ainners tribe, Kothi. Up to the interval point, his role has to be presumed as the hero’s role!

His fervour that he should defeat the Pandian King Ranadheera who drove his tribe away is burning alive and he gives confidence to the rest of the tribe. He resembles the Stunt Master Siva. In a scene when he learns that Pandiyan King had planned to trap him, instead of losing many members of the tribe, he decides to face the king face-to-face as a single!

Other characters in the movie have not been given much importance. Actresses Rajalakshmi and Vaidehi Amarnath perform in a few scenes as ‘Thevaradiyars’. Guru Somasundaram performs as the priest of the Ainner tribe in a lengthier scene.

All other technicians assisting the Director, the cinematographer Akhilesh Kathamuthu, Art Director Ranjith Kumar, Editor Mahendran Ganesan, Costume Designer Suresh Kumar, and Fight Trainer Om Sivaprakash all assist him capably. Further, the background music by Chakravarthy meets and answers the requirement of a historical movie!

Certain scenes, such as the Kotravai Sacrifice Scene, are quite lengthy and the dialogue by the Pandiyan King with the Perumpulligal tribe is also lengthy and these spoil the tempo of the movie!

The very theme that a king who had defeated Cheras, Cholas and Pallavas gets defeated by a tribe and runs away while fighting a tribe does not at all fit! If it had been shown as one king fighting another and getting defeated, it would have been more convincing – instead, the king is shown fighting a tribe and made to lose and run away! This makes for weird logic!

It is gathered that the second part of Yathisai is to be released. We may hope that these defects mentioned would be set right in the next one!

Overall, one has to appreciate the efforts of the director and the technical team for their whole-hearted efforts.