Yudham Sei (2011)

English translation: Make war

Director: Mysskin

Story: Mysskin

Cast: Cheran, Dipa Shah, Y G Mahendra, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan 

Music: K

Time: 150 minutes

Bottom-line: A different type of Tamil cinema; a highly entertaining crime thriller 

  Mysskin’s Yudham Sei is one such film, which, in my opinion, will either receive highly positive reviews, or highly negative reviews. To people like me, who want a break from the usual masala movies, this film is remarkable. To people who prefer a straightforward film, with no twisted plot and with no violence, this film is way below average. Somewhat similar to Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, this film follows a cop who investigates a serial killer. 

This film contains several parallel tracks, all of which have a common ending. JK (Cheran) is a police officer, whose sister goes missing one rainy night. Most of the first half of the story revolves around the events which happened that night (shown for about 5 minutes in the beginning of the film). His seniors offer to help him search for her, once he solves another important case, and so, JK agrees. Amputated arms are found in cartons, which are left in public places. The family members of the people whose hands have been cut, identify the hands. After several hands show up, JK finds a pattern and this gives him a lead in the case: he concludes that all the hands have been amputated by the same person. In the second track, Durai Pandi (Manicka Vinayagam) is arrested by the police after people suspect him to be peeping into ladies’ dressing rooms in his textile shop. The victim is Suja, the daughter of Dr. Purushothaman (Y.G. Mahendra). Both Purushothaman and his wife are wrongly blamed for few things, and this totally shatters the family, who commit suicide by burning themselves. In the third track, the family doctor, Judas Iscariot (Jayaprakash) gives them proof that the burnt bodies are of Dr. Purushothaman and family, but Suja is missing. So, JK reopens the case. JK also receives information, saying that his sister and Suja went missing the same night. So, JK thinks that both his sister’s disappearance and the case of Dr. Purushothaman are related. More amputated hands are found, and the head of a police officer is also found outside the police station. All this makes JK arrive at a conclusion, which the rest of the officers dismiss as absurd. As the film progresses, the true colours of all characters are shown. Who is the killer and why does he/she cut off people’s arms? Does JK successfully find the killer(s) and his sister? Or does the killer’s gang track and ambush JK? Watch Mysskin’s thriller to find out!  

The cast: Cheran (front) and Shah (right)

The story is a violent one, though not much of it is shown on the screen. There are many tracks in the story, as I said, and it takes time to understand the different characters in each track, and how they are related to the main theme. It is as confusing as Memento, but here, perhaps too much confusion makes some people lose interest in the film. By the time you understand the ending, you may feel that this is a great story, but you may also contrastingly feel that it is all much ado about nothing. Along with the story, K’s terrific background score adds to the suspense. The scene where JK fights with a gang of armed men on top of a bridge is one of the best scenes in the film, and credit also goes to the camera work and haunting score to make this scene great.

The camera work is unique. Many scenes are shown in unorthodox camera angles. There are few scenes shown upside down, few scenes that are shown from a bird’s eye view, and many other such unique angles, and I often look for such camera work. Most, if not at least half the film, is filmed in the dark. Very few scenes are shown in daylight. Perhaps Mysskin wanted to create a spooky atmosphere, but yet, showing so many scenes in the dark only makes the film even more difficult to comprehend. 

The famous 'bridge fight' scene

Cheran has acted in the usual way: log faced, with no expression of happiness, sadness or confusion. In fact, there is no acting from anyone in this film; it is mainly the story and the contemporary settings that make the film great. The story is suspenseful, and the audience, unless they have absolutely decided that the film is too confusing to watch, will wait till the end, to see if at least the ending makes it all clear. And the ending is indeed clear, and very much possible. By the end, all loose ends are tied up, though if you are watching it in DVD, I advice you to pause after every scene of a particular track and recall the events of the track, to understand where the film is headed. Few open loops have to be solved by the viewers themselves, but most of the others loops are closed through the dialogues and a visual flashback shown towards the end. 

Overall, Mysskin’s Yudham Sei is a great entertainer, but it will receive wide-ranging reviews, as I said. The viewers who are used to the good old days of MGR films, with a goody-goody hero, a villain, a heroine, some songs etc, they will feel that this film is very poorly made. But those who like a different type of thriller, with lots of twists and suspense, this film will be one of their favourites. A great story, with an apt ending, a terrific score by K and unique cinematography make this film a very good crime thriller. 

My Rating: 3.5/5