Yatra 2 Movie Review

Director Mahi V Raghav made a film Yatra focusing on YSR’s life and how Paadayatra played a crucial role in giving him a win in the elections. The director has come with a second part, Yatra 2, this time focusing more on YS Jagan’s life after YSR’s death. The movie was released today in theaters and here is the review from the US premieres.

What Is It About?

Yatra 2 shows the twists and turns in YS Jagan’s life after YSR passed away. The story brings on the alleged incidents on how YS Jagan became a rival for the Congress party, how he was sent to jail, and finally how he fought against all to become Chief Minister of the state.

Performances

Mammootty is a terrific actor and he proved he is the best fit as YSR in the first part itself. The senior actor once again shines in the few scenes he appears in Yatra 2. Jiiva also looked perfect as YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and carried the role well. Jiiva caught Jagan’s mannerisms very well. Subhalekha Sudhakar role came out well. Mahesh Manjrekar is alright and the actress who played Sonia Gandhi did well. Others did the needed.

Technicalities

Yatra 2 is simple and runs on a single-point agenda. The movie is to rewind and show the public the alleged ploys and politics played by a political party in the state and a century-old national party to destroy YS Jagan. The makers succeeded in showing the reel, which looked more like a docudrama than an engaging movie. The background music could not elevate the scenes. The production and cinematography are good.

Thumbs Up

Jiiva & Mammootty
Run time

Thumbs Down

No Emotional Highs
Lack Of Depth
Second Half

Analysis

Yatra was released exactly five years ago before the elections in 2019 and the second part, Yatra 2 also was planned to have the same release date and just before the elections. Needless to say, the makers wanted the film to make an impact on the current political situation and elections. Yatra 2 is more like a documentary of the incidents claimed to have happened during the last days of YSR and further the political evolution of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Throughout the movie, YSR’s characterization is well depicted in many scenes. However, Jagan’s scenes didn’t have as much impact compared to YSR’s. The success of Yatra 1 is entirely due to YSR and his emotional bond with the people, which is portrayed effectively. In terms of Jagan’s characterization, the director should have written more impactful scenes.

The first half of Yatra 2 focuses on the incidents that allegedly happened when YSR died and how YS Jagan was troubled by the then Central government, Congress. As a plot, Yatra 2 has a series of episodes that obviously show the ‘Telugu Nadu party’ and a 125-year-old Central party in a bad light. There were references all over that YS Jagan is stubborn and that if he is determined to destroy you, he won’t even be caring about himself. Subhalekha Sudhakar dialogues on ‘Kadapa people’ gives a goose-bump elevation to Jagan and his fans will surely enjoy them.

From how Jagan was sent to jail and why he could not win in the 2014 elections, there are contentious theories shown in the movie. Most of the characters could be relatable to real-life people. There were a few good dialogues and emotional scenes that worked. However, there are not many scenes that give a high feel in the movie. Most of it is with flat narration with a series of incidents.

The assembly scenes and the jail episodes are expected to be engaging with powerful dialogues, but they too were ordinary. Many other scenes just come and go instead of hitting hard. The director appears to have comfortably left the controversial characters and scenes out, though he named almost all characters with real names.

There was no single mention of Janasena or BJP, except for an indirect word from the Telugu Nadu chief. There was also no sign of Sharmila, though Jagan acknowledged YS Vijayamma’s support throughout. Sharmila’s absence renders scenes incomplete; most scenes appear handicapped in her absence. People are aware of the YS Family’s significant role after Jagan’s arrest. Sharmila Who continued Yatra is a turning point for YSRCP when Jagan is in Jail.

Overall, Yatra 2 is a recap of happenings since YSR’s demise till Jagan won the elections in 2019. The makers intend to remind the people about the injustice YS Jagan faced and how he has risen to power ‘walking’ against the odds. The intent will be conveyed but as a movie, Yatra 2 could have been more engaging and entertaining.

Bottomline: One Side of the Coin

Rating: 2.5/5

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