Dubai'09 Diary - Yogi: Loud and clichéd review
Status
They say well begun is half done. Unfortunately it is not one bit true in case of Yogi.The opening sequence is well shot with motley people in a restaurant – a cash- loaded drunk businessman to loafers like Yogi ( Ameer) and his accomplices. The business man attracts lot of attention by beating up a boy who accidentally spills curry on his shirt. This reminds Yogi – and the viewer in form of slickly edited memory flashes- about Yogi’s childhood. He and his friends follow the businessman, loot his money and Yogi cold-bloodedly kills him.
The script, full of loopholes gives ample importance to building Yogi’s character but fails to evoke any emotions for him. Yogi is an uneducated goon coming from the lowest social strata. He has had an exploitative and abusive childhood thanks to a demonic greedy father who an compels him to beg with him, a mother who is physically assaulted by the father and eventually commits suicide and a baby sister whose death is accidentally caused by, no prizes for guessing- the father again.
He makes a living out of looting and thievery along with his cronies. He is cold blooded and eccentric. Sample this Yogi teasing a snake which has a burrow in his house, talking to baby mice that live in his shoes and picking an unwarranted fight with the local mafia kingpin.
Coming to the turning point of the story. While fleeing from a robbery scene, Yogi steals a car. Its lady owner is knocked down by a following police car. Just as he is about to abandon the car Yogi discovers a baby in its back seat. He takes her with him- carrying it like grocery in a paper bag.
Needless to say the baby changes the course of Yogi’s violent life and brings out the tender hearted brother who could not save his baby sister. But she eventually leads him to a sad and predictable end.
It’s slightly unbelievable that Yogi has been shortlisted for Muhr Asia Africa Awards in the feature Film category in Dubai International Film Festival. Its clichéd, distasteful and does no justice to emotions. It has some really gross scenes like a baby being bitten by ants after Yogi leaves her with an open can of condensed milk, he getting up from the toilet pot to save her from falling of the bed, he doing cocaine with the baby by his side. It’s all too forced instead of natural.
The script and characters have nothing novel. Even Sulochana’s ( Madhumitha Mitha) character as a single mother making a living out of selling dolls and feeding Yogi’s stolen baby is hackneyed. However the romantic angle between Yogi and Sulo cuts out a sweet domestic picture but is short probably to stay focused on the main plot.
Meanhwhile there is another villain in the picture- the baby’s stepfather who wants her dead. The director and scriptwriter Sunbramaniashiva Vadivelu tries to show how educated rich people can be unscrupulous and uneducated poor people score high on compassion. The script throws a violent scene ineffectively every now and then probably to remind us and Yogi that he can be ruthless and can go to any length for the baby
The director has tried to weave humor in the script in the form of Yogi’s fat buddy who thinks of food forever and some witty dialogues by the mafia kingpin but it does not stand out.
The best part of the film is performances. Ameer has done justice to his role as a soft hearted goon. Even Madhumitha Mitha as Sulo has done a commendable job. She shines in the scene where Yogi first approaches her for feeding the baby. Performances seem slightly loud but not over the top. The editing is noticeable. At the peak of intensity, the current scene is interspersed with visuals of the following scene. It’s a bit unusual and takes a while to get used to. Another scene worth mentioning is Yogi watching the baby sleep, suddenly getting transformed into the twelve year old boy watching over his baby sister. Action sequences are reminiscent of Ghajini except for an unwarranted bizarre screaming scene.
Just as the beginning the end is memorable. The film closes with pictures of Yogi and the baby in happier times. A perfect end to an imperfectly told story.
Yogi is inspired from Tsotsi- the widely acclaimed South African movie. I am sure the director has tried to bring his own sensibility to the film and its not easy to make something that would stand its own ground against an impressive foreign film. But I am sure he could have done much better.
