Yaara Review: Tigmanshu Dhulia's Tale Of Friendship And Betrayal Has Its Moments, But Is It Worth It?

Tigmanshu Dhulia 's film, Yaara released on Zee5 today. The director had said that he had not expected it to release on OTT since it was made in a grand way, but could it match his other directorial? I am not sure about that.

The main flaw lies probably in the pace and the improbability of what we see. There is no interval, you can roughly divide the film into two parts of an hour each. The first part, that narrates how the 'chaukdi gang', consisting of Fagun ( Vidyut Jammwal ), Mitwa ( Amit Sadh ), Rizwan ( Vijay Varma ) and Bahadur (Kenny Basumatary), is formed drags itself way too much. Yes, many key elements lie here, but it gets diluted in the unnecessary sequences and songs that could've been done away with. The film has three distinct parts- the beginning, middle and end, and while the beginning could have been crisper, the middle meanders with the Naxalite movement being introduced in the middle. Does it delve deep? Not really. But it does show Police brutality that many, who were feared to be Naxals met with, but it fizzled off sooner than one could expect. The end gets interesting but ends up being a dud again. Probably the weakest part of the film is the love story between Fagun and Sukanya ( Shruti Hassan), which couldn't ignite a romantic passion, but just became a drag in the later part. The film does pick up pace in the last 45 minutes or so, it falls flat on its face in the end!

When you see that a film is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, you have certain expectations from it. He has a certain touch, that just flickers throughout this movie. When you just begin to hope that it holds on for a while, it just goes off. Even if you haven't really followed his films, this one would probably get you interested in the last few minutes, but would the OTT audience really wait up that long to see the film find a slight push, especially when you can go back at the click of a little button there? That's highly doubtful.

Coming to the performances, Vidyut Jammwal was good as Fagun. If he is a part of a film, you would expect some top-notch action sequences. Well, this one focuses more on his acting chops than his martial art, but he does put it into use in a sequence, and man, that was something. Vijay Varma had spontaneity and Kenny got way less space to show himself off. But something about Sadh in this film didn't fit right. I am a fan of his work- be it Kai Po Che or the small role in Gold , but here, he seemed off the mark. Mitwa's portrayal, seemed very inconsistent, especially the old Mitwa. But in parts, he showed spark. Shruti Hassan might be the weakest link in the film. Sanjay Mishra might have a cameo, but he has a striking presence in the film.

The cinematography is good, but the use of sepia was way too jarring. The songs were like a distraction and editing could have been stronger. In the OTT space, there's doubt it will hold your attention.