‘Yatra 2’ movie review: The emotional drama works better than the politics

A monsoon evening. The then chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy (Mammootty), stirs away from bed sooner than regular and walks to the lobby to seek out his son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Jiiva) additionally unable to sleep. They’re unable to specific their feeling of unease in phrases. At YSR’s request, Jagan arms him a glass of water, and, as he begins to stroll away, he turns to take a look at him, unaware that this could be the final time. YSR takes a sip of the water. The thunder sounds louder and he grimaces for a fleeting second. In director Mahi V Raghav’s Telugu movie Yatra 2, this scene is a vital one.

The scene envelops inside it the temporary interplay between the daddy and the son in opposition to the ominous climate circumstances and makes us marvel what if YSR had lent an ear to his spouse Vijayalakshmi or Vijayamma’s (Ashrita Vemuganti) apprehensions and deferred his chopper experience? The sequel to the 2019 YSR biopic, Yatra, narrates the occasions main as much as the rise of YS Jagan. Its eulogising tone and the timing of the movie’s launch, months earlier than the elections, makes its intentions clear. Whereas YSR and Jagan are depicted as leaders who don’t err, the opponents are all wily and crooked. Inside that framework, it additionally tries to be a compelling story of a father and a son. It finds that groove in a number of scenes comparable to this interplay on the wet evening, earlier than it turns into an more and more one-sided political drama.

Mahi Raghav takes the assistance of cinematographer Madhie and music composer Santhosh Narayanan to create efficient drama. Sathyan Sooryan and composer Ok did the honours for Yatra. The color palette stays muted, usually transferring to hotter tones when the movie juxtaposes the cinematic recreation of real-life conditions and characters with precise footage of YSR, Jagan and the ocean of people that mourned the demise of the late chief. Santhosh’s background rating works with out drawing consideration to itself within the preliminary parts. A number of the dialogues are additionally measured but efficient. Be careful for an early scene displaying YSR keen to assist a younger woman with a listening to obstacle. It helps that the traces are uttered by Mammootty, whose regal manner and composure convey all of it. His efficiency is a bit more than an prolonged cameo and serves as the muse of this movie.

The delicate tonal inspirations from movies comparable to The Godfather and Thevar Magan are additionally evident in a number of early scenes. Jagan hesitates to hog the limelight when his father is cheered on by the swelling crowds. Exterior house, he sees his father as a tall chief and is content material staying a foot behind him. Distinction this with a later scene when Jagan stands tall in an open-roof automobile, having earned his victory. His physique language conveys that he has earned his place within the solar. Jiiva performs the half with conviction and brings in ample credibility.

When the battle traces are drawn between Jagan and the ‘celebration excessive command’ and with Chandrababu Naidu (Mahesh Manjrekar), the movie will get more and more monotonous in the way it paints Jagan’s opponents as slimy and conniving. A number of points are additionally borderline foolish. The ruling celebration on the Centre is referred to right here because the Progress celebration and the irony is unmistakable when ‘progress’ and ‘Madam (Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi) makes the ultimate selections’ are uttered inside fast succession. The State-level opposition turns into the Telugu Nadu Social gathering and the marginally depraved background rating with which Naidu is launched provides unintentional humour.

Yatra 2 makes ‘the celebration excessive command’ and its senior leaders appear extra of a caricature than precise political opponents. There’s additionally a passing scene the place we see former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ready to fulfill ‘Madam’ who refuses to chop brief her espresso break! A minimum of Naidu’s characterisations, within the later parts, get a barely higher deal displaying some political strikes.

Whereas the ‘odarpu yatra’ and the rise of the son to a pacesetter are narrated with some conviction, the final half hour between Jagan and Naidu will get more and more lopsided, long-drawn and boring. Jiiva’s efficiency and that of Ashrita Vemuganti (as YS Vijayalakshmi) and Ketaki Narayan (as YS Bharati), preserve us considerably engaged within the ultimate parts. The 2 girls have an uncanny resemblance to the real-life characters they’re portraying.

Mahi Raghav additionally finds the scope to incorporate dialogues comparable to ‘Devudu nammakam, YSR nijam (God is a perception, YSR is fact)’, which works like a mass second that attracts whistles within the corridor. In one other scene, the reference to strong-willed Kadapa son of the soil additionally elicits cheers.

Nevertheless, these moments aren’t sufficient to prop up a story that will get tiresome regardless of all of the yatras. The movie depicts occasions that led to Jagan launching his personal political celebration, breaking away from the Progress (Congress) celebration and reveals how he misplaced the 2014 elections to Naidu. Nevertheless, it refrains from discussing the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and the formation of Telangana in 2014. The character of Y S Sharmila can also be conspicuous by her absence. The movie stays focussed on portraying the rise of the son as a pacesetter who wins the elections in 2019 to turn out to be the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.