Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam movie review: Prabhu Jeyaram raises pertinent questions in this impressive socio-political drama

3/5

Story: An aimless youngster decides to become a filmmaker by making a movie based on some of the intriguing episodes in his life. However, after realizing that one of his friends has stolen the story and narrated it to a producer, he adds some hard-hitting and thought-provoking elements to his script to impress the producer. Will he able to convince him?

Review: The trailer of Prabhu Jeyaram's Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam provided a sneak peek into what the film is going to be. The director had earlier mentioned earlier that the film which features two stories will touch upon the issue of casteism. With a few Tamil films made uncompromisingly on caste discrimination having released in the recent times, it was curious to know what the movie has in store for movie buffs. 

Interestingly, unlike the other outings, Prabhu presents the topic in a unique manner, with two stories, each appearing in the two halves, with several sub-plots and humour-laced sequences.       

The film begins with JP (RS Karthik), an aimless youngster who is gearing up for his wedding. His ex girlfriend visits his fiancée and asks her to call off the wedding. Cut to flashback, we are introduced to JP's life from college days, his short-term relationships, irresponsible lifestyle and the bond he shares with father and mother. 

The scenes involving the romantic portions are engaging and funny. But we wonder if it's the same film which is supposed to touch upon the sensitive caste issue. Gradually, we get scenes where the caste issue is casually mentioned and a few dialogues like jaathi patru thappu illai, jaathi veri dhan thappu (love for one's caste isn't bad, but being a caste fanatic is wrong).

But the issue is not brought up in the story in a serious manner and later shifts into satire mode which eventually works. JP joins as an employee in a YouTube channel which voices against caste oppression. How caste is instilled in different ways into the minds of people which many can't fathom and the nature of those who take pride in caste identity is explained in an impressive manner. 

A small twist towards the end of the first half reveals that JP is all set to become a filmmaker and narrates a story, including some of his life moments to a producer. However, he gets the shock of his life when he realizes that one of his friends has stolen the story and narrated it to the same producer, he adds some hard-hitting and thought-provoking elements to his script. Can JP pull off a coup?

The highlight of the movie is the contrasting nature between its first half and the latter half. While the former has a slew of ingredients tailor-made for a rom-com which slowly progresses as a satire taking dig at the caste system, the latter go all out tearing apart the prejudices and existing practices pertaining to the caste discrimination in employment sector and appointment of priests in temples. 

The movie also comes up with a suggestion to strike a balance between the economically backward upper caste people and financially sound lower caste people, which however, may not go down well with all the viewers.   

The manner in which the movie takes a pot shot at filmmakers who make corporate-bashing films in the disguise of extending support to farmers is quite enjoyable. The meta-references in many scenes and Easter eggs towards the climax are impressive and their presentation appears innovative. 

The performances of every artiste, including RS Karthik, Junior Balaiah and Rohini among others deserve mention. The background score by Guna Balasubramanian and visuals by Arunkrishna Radhakrishnan aid the engaging screenplay, On the downside, we feel the filmmaker has wasted opportunity to convey hard-hitting truths in the first half. Though he has made up for it in the latter half, we feel a lot more could have bene better in the first half.  

Verdict: The movie which deals with a relevant issue is fresh in its presentation and will appeal to those who love to experience something unique. 

Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam is streaming on SonyLIV.