Manigandan KR
Chennai, 03 Feb 2018 22:04 IST
VZ Dhorai has a brilliant plot but the master failed at execution. Thus, the film only manages to impress in parts.
Director VZ Dhorai is known for his painstaking efforts in making out-of-the-ordinary films. Yemaali (The Conned) is no different.
The film has an interesting plot. A young techie Maleeswaran (Sam Jones) and his girlfriend Ritu (Athulya Ravi) break up after a heated debate over a trivial issue.
Both have inflated egos and refuse to budge. Ritu, in particular, is too egotistical and wants her boyfriend come back to her begging for forgiveness.
Maleeswaran, who is madly in love with Ritu, goes out of his way to convince her and even apologises several times for having spoken harshly. However, Ritu treats him like dirt. Eventually, Maleeswaran's anger reaches a stage where he decides to kill her.
He speaks to his close confidante, Aravindh (P Samuthirakani) about it. Aravindh is a calm, level-headed person employed in the IT industry and treats Maleeswaran like his brother. He tries drive sense into Maleeswaran and dissuade him from doing anything that he will later regret.
Maleeswaran is in no mood to listen and is adamant that Aravindh help him in murdering the girl.
Aravindh, failing at convincing Maleeswaran to give up the catastrophic thoughts, decides the best way to stop the man would be to play along until he changes his mind.
Joining in the plan, Aravindh explains that the more important thing here is to not get caught for the murder and suggests they work out a 'two-fold plan'.
The 'two-fold plan' means enacting the whole sequence: from the planning to the subsequent police investigation. This would help them plug all the loopholes that could give them away when they actually commit the crime.
Pleased, Maleeswaran agrees and the two set to task.
Yemaali is unique in the sense that it appears to be a crime story, but it actually isn't. It is more of a romantic drama.
Samuthirakani is a good actor but then, he does not fit the bill of Aravindh. He looks too old for the role making it difficult for the audience to accept him as the friend cum brother.
Sam Jones, who is making his debut with this film, has done a decent job. He looks perfect as Maleeswaran, the IT guy who has experienced a break up. But then, he is not convincing as Mali, the cop. Nevertheless, the youngster has potential and if he nurtures his skill well, he could enjoy a bright future in the Tamil film industry.
Athulya Ravi has played quite a glamourous role in this film. The girl, who appeared simple and homely in her first film, portrays a completely different facet here.
Roshini Prakash as Divya does what is needed for the role. D Singampuli and Bala Saravanan both bring in the much needed comic relief with their antics and punch lines.
VZ Dhorai has a brilliant plot but the master failed at execution. Thus, the film only manages to impress in parts.
However, he should be given the credit for highlighting on the existing societal trends and the manner in which priorities and preferences of couples and individuals have changed over time.
In fact, one of Bala Saravanan's dialogues in the film summarises the subject.
Saravanan, who plays Radhakrishnan, says, "At one point in time, boys wanted only girls who were virgins for a wife. Then, we reached a stage, where boys married even those who were not virgins. We then said their past did not matter to us and that what mattered to us was only the future. Now, we are in a situation where boys say, 'I don't care what you do even after marriage. Just don't do it before my eyes.'"
The film is also a bit too long and some sequences and scenes are totally unnecessary. Editor R Sudharsan should have been a lot more strict while adding in the sequences.
In short, Yemaali is interesting, but only in parts.