Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai review: Ram's philosophical tale is a brutal patience test
Over the past few months, a popular meme featuring actor Karunas’s dialogue from Polladhavan has been doing the rounds: “Seri da, ippo enna?” (Okay, what now?). It is a short, almost throwaway line, but one that fits just about every occasion when you are subjected to an inconsequential story and find yourself desperately searching for a comeback that will shut the conversation down. “Seri da, ippo enna?” does the job. Brief, dismissive and brutal.
If an entire film can make you feel like saying “Seri da, ippo enna?” from start to finish, it is director Ram’s Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai.
Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai begins with an aunty narrating bedtime stories to a child. The fable is about an immortal man who is over 8,000 years old. Death never comes for him, but he goes in search of a woman he has seen take multiple rebirths across different eras.During one such episode, he meets a Dubai-returned man (Soori), who is thrilled about meeting his son for the first time in eight years. When Soori and Nivin Pauly meet, a series of incidents follows. These not only feel eccentric but also take us on a journey across different eras. Nivin Pauly’s character teaches Soori an important lesson about compassion.
Director Ram is known for his poignant films that make audiences ponder human emotions while also entertaining them. His films do not conform to conventions and often go on a philosophical tangent. Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai is cut from the same cloth. An immortal man meets a mere mortal who is self-centred and lacks compassion and empathy.
While the central thought sounds interesting, Ram takes a bold but testing approach to conveying the message. Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai loses its grip on the audience within the first few minutes itself. We are introduced to long-haired Nivin Pauly, who is known by different names in different eras. The film does not give any of them a name — be it the lead characters or the supporting actors. It is an interesting choice, to be honest. But it comes at the cost of making audiences sit through two hours and 15 minutes of lengthy dialogues — delivered sometimes in colloquial Tamil and sometimes in the popular literary style of Tholkappiyam. They squeeze the joy out of the viewing experience.
Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai is not only psychological but also functions as a fantasy drama. Birds, animals and mammals frequently appear in questionable AI-generated visuals. They talk, mouth dialogues and join Nivin Pauly’s character in delivering messages about humanity. These AI visuals occupy the screen every five minutes. So much so that some of the visuals featuring Nivin Pauly and Anjali appear to have been done through AI. Taking the help of AI is one thing, but filling almost half the film with AI visuals reeks of lazy filmmaking.Take, for example, the scene in which Anjali swims in a whimsical lake. That is the real Anjali. A few minutes later, another woman emerges from the lake, supposedly resembling Anjali, but she looks nothing like her. It seems the makers lost their grip on AI with their sloppy prompts, just as they did with the screenplay.
Yes, a human life and a rat’s life should be treated equally. We get the gist. But why bring the poor rat back again and again to convey the same message? Nivin Pauly’s character is always up in arms against Soori’s character because he doesn’t consider a human life to be on par with that of an animal. Soori’s character is designed to bring in some laughs. But you are already tired after listening to Nivin Pauly’s speeches about the Iron Age, Egyptian and Mesopotamian eras.
The only stretch that makes Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai interesting is the reveal surrounding Anjali’s character. Beneath the AI slop and countless encounters between Nivin Pauly and Soori lies an interesting story that touches upon history and philosophy. But by the time the film gets there, you are already tired of the shoddily done AI visuals, which look worse than YouTube rhyme videos.Nivin Pauly does his best to bring his quirky character to life. However, the screenplay drags on for so long that two hours feel like four. Soori and Anjali do their parts, too, but the film is beyond saving. Cinematographer NK Ekambaram’s visuals of the Western Ghats and Dhanushkodi look magical on screen.
Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai is a patience-testing attempt to gift audiences a film that talks about humanity. It is also a film that will remain an example in debates about the use of AI in filmmaking and how it can suck the life out of cinema.- Ends
A proud South Indian, especially Chennaiite, with love for films, food and cricket. She loves entertainment. In life also. Cries in theatres, watches films alone and always takes back some lessons. Hills over beaches for her. If not for films, you can see her obsessing over food videos and making organic soaps. Also, a Senior Assistant Editor at India Today Digital covering South films.
