‘Yakshiyum Njanum’ (Malayalam, Horror, 2010)
Director: Vinayan
Cast: Goutham, Ricky Shanil, Meghna
For a brilliant horror flick to really come of age in Malayalam cinema, it will take some more time. The latest one in this genre, ‘Yakshiyum Njanum’, is another pointer as director Vinayan has tried all tricks to create a scary ambience. The director adds every available ingredient into the movie, including loud screams, meowing of cats and hooting of owls hitting your ears every now and then, with a black magician and cruel-looking men thrown in for good measure.
Yet, the movie fails to serve its purpose - that is, to scare the masses.
The movie begins when a thug named Shyam (Goutham) undertakes the task of eliminating a man named Johnny. After accomplishing his mission smoothly, our hero is hiding in a deserted estate bungalow deep in a forest. He soon meets a girl named Athira (Meghana) there. The girl always wears low-cut blouses and is ready to have a bath whenever she sees a waterfall or stream!
Poor Shyam, what else can he do but to fall in love with her. But, later he comes to know that Athira is not an ordinary girl, but a yakshi with a vengeance. As the hero himself is strong both in body and mind, he is not at all scared to know that Athira is a yakshi. After hearing the yakshi’s past and how she used to spend her life with her boyfriend, Shyam starts to love her even more.
Wow!
So they merrily sing a duet and are about to live happily when new happenings come about.
In order to bring freshness to his yakshi, the director, in some scenes has clad her in white gown (presented by an Englishman). You will be relieved to know that you were at least spared from the stale visuals of a yakshi wearing a white sari and singing a sad solo in search of her lost love.
Wait! There is not much to be relieved about. The voluptuous yakshi is doing the same age-old gimmicks that the other yakshis have done in the earlier horror movies like ‘Meghasandesam’, ‘Indriyam’, ‘Akashaganga’ and ‘Sreekrishnaparunthu’.
On the technical side, it is music director Sajan Madhav who deserves a pat. The song ‘Vrindavanamundo... Radhe’, is the best among the lot. The camera work by Nawas fails to rise above the average. The actors, including Goutham, Meghana, Thilakan, Jubil and Sphadikam George, also have nothing much to do. Overall, a viewer who expects an electric, spooky and bloodless horror thriller in ‘Yakshiyum Njanum’ will be disappointed to know at the end that the flick is only ordinary stuff which hardly sends shivers down their spines.