Yaanum Theeyavan review: Ordinary story with underdeveloped characters

Director: Prashanth G Shekar

Cast: Ashwin Jerome, Varsha Bollamma, Raju Sundaram, Ponvannan

Michael (Ashwin Jerome) aka Mike and Sowmya (Varsha Bollamma) are classmates. Mike is good at singing and is a trained in martial arts. Over a period he falls for Sowmya and she also reciprocates. But Sowmya’s dad did not approve of her relationship with Mike as he has other plans. He wants to pack her off to the Netherlands for higher studies and eventually marry a relative who is well settled there.

Now, the love locked couple elope and have a registered marriage with the help of friends and they start a new life away from their parents. On one of their long walks, the newlyweds encounter a psychotic killer Pasupathy (Raju Sundaram) who along with his underlings in drunken state misbehave with Sowmya. Michael beats them badly, thanks to his martial arts training. Later the couple moves to a new apartment and it so happens that it is above Pasupathy’s abode. The same night Sowmya witnesses a ghastly murder committed by Pasupathy and now all hell breaks loose when the latter recalls the earlier incident. Without wasting time, Pasupathy takes them as his hostage and starts torturing them.

Meanwhile, Pasupathy is now a wanted criminal. A nearly retired and honest cop named Jayaprakash (Ponvannan) is entrusted with the job of bringing him to books. Each time Jayaprakash tries to nab him, there is a politician Sethuramalingam (Santhanabharathi) who comes to Pasupathy’s rescue. The rest is all about how Mike and Sowmya escape from him, with the former taking an extreme step in the climax.

Debutant Ashwin Jerome has the right looks of a hero and he is good at action sequences as well. He fits the bill. Varsha is just about adequate. Raju Sundaram’s voice works against his menacing character. Neither do the slow-mo shots help as well. There is no back-story as to why Sundaram turns a serial killer and also why he tortures the couple in eccentric manners and still wants them to be alive for a few more days. The problem with the script is an ordinary story with underdeveloped characters. The director could have infused more thrilling elements to hold the tension. The movie had all the potential to become an engaging thriller had the director concentrated more on a coherent screenplay with solid writing.

Achu Rajamani's songs and re-recording are a plus to the film. Cinematography by Shreyas Krishna also goes well with the mood of the proceedings.