There is a particular reason why a Gautham Menon is loved for his style. Years ago when "DCP sir" of 'Gharshana' fame bared his heart in the face of death, not many fell in love with such a realistic portrayal. At least, not many as the creativity deserved. Like Venkatesh in that film, here too, Ajith is a cop who tells as a narrator that being foolhardy could have put him in terrible risk. That's it. This filmmaker creates such cops who are simply human, not one of those come-what-may-nobody-can-harm-me types who make it a point to tell the villain that he is not afraid of death.
Ajith is one of the few Tamil actors of this generation whom the average Telugu audience finds likeable (though not lovable like Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan were in their hey days). He shows verve and calm composure in two shakes of a lamb's tail, with such remarkable ease. Gautham leverages him to the fullest extent for this cop action-drama. Gautham's movies are rich in romance, you can almost tell when love is in the air; he sets the perfect milieu with a mesmerizing BGM, a cup of coffee and some light hearted cozy moments. He takes you on a ride with breezy or light-veined moments, and then bounces back to gritty action. The story revolves around the central figure of a daring cop Satyadev, trigger-happy and raw. Playing an undercover agent is Satyadev, who mixes with gangsters and pounces when he has a chance to nab them. There is an element of personal revenge, there is the psychotic villain, who rubs the upright cop on the wrong side.
The first half takes time to establish the character of Satyadev, his painful past interspersed with his first love. With a past that clouds his present, Ajith’s struggle to cope with the unfortunate incident and yet to nurture the present cautiously is penned well.
It would be pretty irresistible to not compare Gautham's two other cop movies with this one, the kind of tension he brings in the second half with the kidnapping, swearing phone abuses, and the abduction threats are too much to brush off. If the first half was pretty slow with Satyadev’s flashback, the second half races ahead with some steamy dialogues, fight sequences and some master mind detective work. That and enter Arun Vijay, after a silent first half he comes as a merciless goon in the second with a single point agenda. He looks stunning for a baddie, tries to rack his brain to compete with the IPS officer.
Some scenes are pretty well-etched, like the scene where Sathyadev, full of anger and cop patriotism, warns Asish Vidhyarthi for offering him bribery. This comes after Sathyadev remains calm despite Asish's provocations a bit earlier. Interspersing anger with the emotion of sentiment, the scene is complete with his late father appearing in imagination at the doorstep.
The last half hour involving Arun Vijay’s word battle is also where the actor shows his prowess, it’s a different ball game for the actor but he clicks wisely with dialogues and stunts.
Comic relief comes in the form of Vivek, he comes with a few one liners and gives away a hearty laugh making the audience wanting more. Parvathy Nair and Daniel Balaji make brief appearances, but some important ones.
Action sequences and cinematography are something that Gautham never leaves room for error and they are spot on. Yet another striking thing about Yennai Arindhaal is the dialogue delivery, especially Ajith just erupts when it comes to the situation.
Anushka’s character has little to offer, for a hugely reputed star, the role looks short-lived. Trisha makes an impact.
Harris Jayaraj's music is an asset. The snazzy BGM adds to the flavour of the film. It is trendy and updated.
Verdict: Gautham is back with his Midas Touch. It is an entertainer for the discerning audience.
