A Malayalam language film |a DQ fan like me couldn’t sit thru. I re-watched with a determination when it was re-telecast on one of the channels a second time. Teaser
A different love story of two people who met “very briefly” once (think back to babies holding hands in Tamil/Hindi film Khushi) wait for each other all life long, never to meet again face to face, but are in love with that unknown to-arrive-lover Lallu (DQ) who is in search of that girl when the sparks will fly, violins will play a la SRK in Main Hoon Na. The story of the film lies somewhere in the middle of the search for this girl while he and his happy go lucky friends – Soubin is wasted, Salim Kumar has a slightly more responsible role than the prof in the Jimmiki Kammal film, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, also the co-scriptwriter, the blind man with a horrendous singing voice – go gallavanting after their daily contractual building painting jobs. (They have jobs, yes & they earn well.) This carefree life set in a picturesque Kadamakudy Islands is disrupted (no surprises there 😜) when Lallu finally finds his spark, but …
Most of the details during the first half become relevant by the end of the second, but they still do nothing to engage the audience watching a predictable story, motifs, stock characters indulging in cheap humour. DQ does choose to be a mass hero, however he hasn’t been able to sink into this character as effectively as he was Aju (Bangalore Days), Charlie (Charlie) and Adityan (Vikramadityan)
Yamandan means huge, it can also mean mass as in a mass film. Though it checked all its ‘mass’ elements, it failed to bring them cohesively into an arresting storyline.
Therefore, let’s run with the idea of Yamandan as unrealistically huge, as in “ethra manoharamaya nadakkatha swapnam” a dialogue from the Mohanlal-Srinivasan film Nadodikkttu.
Lallu (we see) & Diya (Nikhila Vimal) (we are told) are in search of that rare spark when they meet their partner as Madhuri Dixit’s character in Dil Toh Pagal Hai waits for the ishaara (a sign) from the upperwala. Therefore, they aren’t interested in anybody else, even when others are interested in them. The film is bildungsroman in genre to the extent of showing Lallu from pre-birth, birth, growing up & coming of age into a slightly more serious about life person, earning the support especially of his strict advocate father (Renji Panicaker and his many father roles is a post in itself) and his younger techie go getter brother (Arun Tharian of Aanandam fame). The scriptwriters – Bibin George (the villain) and Vishnu get meaty roles, so much so that, I thought this film was more a platform for their onscreen presence than for DQ to perform as a easy going rustic, school dropout with a good heart from an affluent family.
The better parts, the film nostalgia during a wedding eve mashing up popular songs. Highlight, that bit with Ashokan
Dileesh Pothan & Suraj Venjaramoodu
Watch at your own risk! I’d always say I told you so 😜
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