In this digital age there is no dearth of interesting story ideas especially in the crime thriller genre. But sadly once too often we get many botched up screenplays that leave us lamenting over the time, money and talent wasted.
'Yaakkai' which means body begins quite interestingly as a billionaire Radha Ravi, hospital owner is killed, placed in his costly car and rolled down fourteen storeys. The arrogant son Guru Somadundaram arrives from the US and straightaway is established as evil who obviously engineered his dad's death. Enter the diabetic cop Prakash Raj who immediately marks Guru and starts his investigation. Then we are introduced to the hero Krishna, a VISCOM student who falls in love at first sight with college mate Swathi an angel in disguise as a human. An auto driver, ambulance driver and the hospital manager are killed and suddenly a twist occurs wherein the hero is shown as the killer. What happens next is forms the rest of the screenplay.
Swathi Reddy's character is reminiscent of Asin's much acclaimed one in 'Ghajini'.
Nevertheless she looks pretty, gives the right expressions and is the only saving grace. Krishna has been well utilised in films like 'Kazhugu' and 'Yamirukka Bayamey' but in this one he seems to be in constant doubt whether he can carry the role of a college student and sadly it shows on the screen. How much ever he tries to be sprightly , wearing a permanent grin he is unconvincing. Prakash Raj is his usual self assuredly executing the diabetic angle. Guru Somasundaram has built his reputation with his extraordinary work in 'Aaranya Kaandam', 'Jigarthanda' and 'Joker' should forget this one quickly as a bad dream. The badly written role makes Guru struggle like a novice and he suffers further trying to pass on as a US return leaving the audience in splits with his dialogue delivery. Radha Ravi is wasted while M.S.Bhaskar proves his mettle in a serious role.
Yuvan Shankar Raja has given some pleasing melodies throughout with one duet picturized well. His background score gives a slight relief in the tedium. Sathya Ponmar's cinematography is a plus while editor Sabu Joseph cannot be faulted for the lengthy scenes given to him. Director Kulandai Velappan obviously does not believe in the wise screenwriting principle "Get in late, get out early". All his scenes are unnecessarily detailed and lengthy ushering in boredom. It is perplexing why he used the deaf and dumb backdrop when those characters don't even appear in the tragic funeral scene. Inconsistent characterisations don't help either.
Verdict : Go for it if you are a fan of Yuvan or Swathi to bear the ordeal.
