'Yevam', produced by Navdeep and Pavan Goparaju, has been released in theatres. The psychological crime thriller has been made as a female-centric film.
Story:
Soumya (Chandini Chowdary) joins the Vikarabad police station as a constable. Abhiram (Jai Bharat Raj) heads the team. A model named Anusha, who goes to a forlorn place believing that she will get to do a shoot with Jr NTR, is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Soumya realizes that this murder is related to another case and Yugandhar (Vashishta Simha) is believed to be the common link. Will Soumya catch the killer single-handedly? How does Abhiram help her in solving this case? What is the role of Harika (Ashu Reddy), Yugandhar's dead wife, in this story? That's what the crux of the story is about.
Performances:
Since this is a thriller set in a locality, the number of characters is limited. Chandini Chowdary leads the show; she gets to show acting range. Be it in getting attracted to a male colleague or in asserting herself in hostile situations, she is good in all her scenes. Vasishta Simha can land interesting acting opportunities if he makes the right movies.
Bharat Raj has the Telugu man-next-door looks. Ashu Reddy, Annie, and others are good.
Technical Departments:
The songs have been composed by Keertana Sesh and Neelesh Mandalapu, with the former taking care of the BGM as well. SV Vishweshwar's cinematography is average. Srujana Adusumilli's editing could have been more interesting. For example, the conversation where Abhiram talks about his idea of a date should have come in the first half. It would have added a sense of intrigue.
Action Directors Prudhvi Master and Eswar Master don't get much space to exhibit their talent. The Sound Design by Vsound Studios and Santosh Kumar Vodnala is not bad.
Analysis:
The film begins with a wife taunting her husband over her extra-marital affair. By and by, the male character seen in the prologue assumes greater significance in the course of the story. The antagonist in the story is dangerous not because he is a megalomaniac or a serial killer. He is scary because his motives are difficult to decipher. This element about his character should have been milked better.
At one point, the film comes across as a take on how primal instincts play out among sexually frustrated men. The film could have been a thought-provoking critique of modernity and sexual permissiveness. The antagonist has a devil-may-care attitude and doesn't care about the consequences of his madman actions. This aspect should have been mined for some explosive scenes in the climax.
Abhiram is a sharp-witted cop who can do all the functions that a clues team performs. His characterization is interesting at the beginning. In a scene, the psychology of the headline-hunting media and dismissive reporters has also been shown in a satirical way. The story had enormous potential to examine the mindset of the lonesome urban male in the times of falling sex ratios.
A highlight pertains to the use of the Telangana folk song tradition of Oggu Katha. The song is used to carry the narration forward.
Vox Verdict:
'Yevam' is a psychological crime thriller with a good interval twist and a narrative that gives a peek into the scary mental makeup of a frustrated man.
Rating: 2.5
