Samantha has so evolved as a performer, where her name has become a selling point along with the other aspects of a film. Samantha is coming with a film Yashoda, where she plays the lead role. The trailer was intriguing and hinted at conspiracy around the concept of surrogacy. The movie was released today in theaters. Check out the review.
What Is It About?
Yashoda (Samantha) a food delivery girl agrees to become a surrogate mother for a large sum of money. She will be sent to a highly sophisticated surrogate facility owned by Madhubala (Varalakshmi Sarathkumar). Yashoda learns that something is not right at the facility and she gets shocked seeing gruesome incidents happening there. On the other side, there is an active murder investigation of a business tycoon that leads to a stunning end. How is it linked to Yashoda’s story and what she does thereafter form the rest of the story.
Performances
Samantha gave an apt performance in the role of Yashoda. This role is a cakewalk for her, yet the effort she put into crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘I’s could be seen in this dual-shaded role. This time she had to do the action part also and she has done it effortlessly.
Varalakshmi Sarathkumar appears as a dangerous woman in a cold blood. Most of her roles were aggressive and yelling types, but In Yashoda she had to be subtle yet ruthless. She did quite well. Unni Mukundan supported her well. Sampath Raj, Murli Sharma, and others were alright in their respective roles. Kalpika, Divya Sripada, and others will be seen in brief roles.
Technicalities
The storyline of Yashoda is interesting. For the concept, the movie hardly needed outdoor shots. Most of the sets looked fine while some shots in the facility appear to be heavily inspired by Hollywood sci-fi thrillers. The concept of confining the inmates with illusion walls is an unusual setup. The screenplay is good. Background music by Manisharma is alright.
Thumbs Up
Samantha
Fresh Plot
Thumbs Down
Slow First Half
Predictable episodes
Routine Climax
Analysis
There were many movies based on the concept of surrogacy earlier. This plot of Yashoda is a plot developed from real investigative research that is untouched in films so far. A woman in need of money agrees to be a surrogate mother for an unknown billionaire and reaches a state-of-the-art facility for the same. Smelling a conspiracy, she digs deeper to unturn the dark truths only to find a giant mafia.
The first half of Yashoda is slow with the setup in the surrogacy facility, with friends and character establishment. But it gets interesting as the narrative gets into the plot a little deeper toward the interval block. The pre-interval to interval sequences are rightly done promising an intriguing second half. The plot could be sensed on whole, but the details remain blurred until the revelations slowly turn up
The second half is more gripping and intriguing with each twist and turn. From Madhu’s flashback to the establishment of the murder investigation link, there are some good twists that turned out well. The concept of narrating two parallel stories back and forth without disclosing a link between them and that too until the latter second half is adventurous. If one side derails, there is a chance that by the time the link is established, the narration might have looked bumpy. That balance and suspense link between the two sides is maintained well by the director duo.
On the downside, a perverted security guard, a highly monitored facility with umpteen blindspots, and a spine-chilling mafia setup with opened exit doors are some routine cinematic liberties that could have been worked differently. The emotional blocks in the pre-climax are too conventional.
The thrill factor worked mostly while the emotional episodes are cliched. The climax is obvious with some routine action blocks. Overall, Yashoda is a decent thriller with a few stereotyped scenes.