The film stands out for recreating the lifestyles, cultures, belief systems and social order prevailing in Tamil Nadu in the 7th century AD.
Director Dharani Rasendran's 'Yaathisai' is a period drama. (Twitter)
Yaathisai (Tamil)
Debutant director Dharani Rasendran breaks the conventions to tell a gripping but grim historical story soaked in blood and battle through Yaathisai (South side).
Hard-hitting and realistic, the film stands out for its sincere and valiant attempt at recreating the lifestyles, cultures, belief systems and social order prevailing in Tamil Nadu in the 7th century AD.
Yaathisai is set in the time of the great Ranadheera Pandian, the famed Pandya king who is believed to have never lost a war. It tells the fictional story of Kothi, an Eyinar chieftain who manages to almost defeat Ranadheera Pandian and reclaim the fort the Cholas lost to Pandyas in battle.
A poster of ‘Yaathisai’. (Twitter)
Through this well-researched fictional tale, director Dharani Rasendran documents how life was in Tamil land in the seventh century.
Interestingly, Rasendran has no interest in glorifying Kothi or Ranadheera Pandian and his story is only used as a foil for the more intense political statements that the director wishes to make later on.
The film drives home the bigger point, making the audiences see beyond the story it narrates — that all kings fought wars only to keep their authority.
It subtly puts across the point that those in power cited different reasons like the welfare of people, freedom and culture to get others to join in their fight.
Pandian king Arikesari Maravarman’s health is failing and his arch-rivals to the North, the Cholas, know it. They realise that this is the time to invade and vanquish the Pandian empire.
As they invade, they are joined by several other powers, including the Cheras who rule a region now known as Kerala. Summoning smaller kingdoms, forces and factions loyal to them, the Cholas and the Cheras jointly attack the Pandyas.
But little do they know that the Pandyas have a valiant warrior in Ranadheera Pandian, the man who ascended the throne after Arikesari.
For Twitter
இதுவரை கண்டிராத தென்புலத்தானை யாத்திசையில் காண ஆயத்தமாகுங்கள்#VenusInfotainment #yaathisai @kjganesh082 @SakthiFilmFctry @sakthivelan_b @shakthi_mithran @actorseyon @rajaLaKshmiG29 @Samar1407Samar @VaidehiAmarnath @akileshkmuthu @Mahendraneditor @onlynikil pic.twitter.com/TFaAMUOIaT— Dharani rajendran (@dhararasendran) March 30, 2023
Ranadheera, a ferocious fighter, hits back hard. He drives back the invaders so forcefully that the Cheras flee back to Kerala and the Cholas flee from their lands in the North.
Randheera occupies the Chola Fort and starts ruling from there, forcing the Chola forces to go into hiding to protect their crown prince Nalan, who is just a child.
The smaller clans that fought on behalf of the Cholas are either vanquished or driven back to the dry lands (or deserts).
At this point, an ambitious warrior is born into one of the clans that fought alongside the Cholas, the Eyinars.
Director Dharani Rasendran’s ‘Yaathisai’. (Twitter)
Named Kothi, the youngest son grows up and emerges as the leader of the clan. He wishes to have a separate kingdom for the Eyinars and figures out a way to realise his dream.
He finds out about the hideout of the Cholas and makes them an offer. He says that if the Cholas offer him 15,000 of their soldiers, he will recapture the Chola Fort held by Ranadheera Pandian along with his troops.
Kothi says that if he can accomplish this task, in return, the Cholas would have to give Eyinars a separate kingdom where they would be able to cultivate and farm. He says he will be able to take over the fort held by Ranadheera Pandian in a year.
The Cholas agree to this. What happens next is what Yaathisai is about.
Dharani Rasendran should be congratulated for several reasons.
A poster of Dharani Rasendran’s ‘Yaathisai’ . (Twitter)
Firstly, his team seems to have extensively researched ancient Tamil texts, sculptures in temples and literature to give audiences a glimpse into how life would have been back then.
More importantly, all the dialogues are in ancient Tamil. The movie attempts to present at least 1,000 Tamil words used in the 7th Century that are not in vogue anymore.
It also throws light on sacrificial rituals like “Navakandam” (nine cuts where a heroic soldier ritually cuts himself in nine places and dies before a war in front of Goddess Durga also known as Kotravai. He does it for the king’s and the kingdom’s welfare and success.)
Yaathisai does not attempt to camouflage the intentions of the characters. It presents them as they are, giving us an insight into the mindsets of rulers and those pledging their loyalties to them.
The film has some exceptionally shot, gripping action sequences. Wars are intense and each battle looks realistic, thanks to the effective portrayal by the actors playing those characters.
From casting to narration, Dharani Rasendran seems to have struck the bull’s eye.
He tries to present the truth in its most raw form, not attempt to cloak or clothe proceedings. In the process, he skips all cinematic procedures.
Despite the difficulty in understanding the dialogues which are in ancient Tamil (there are subtitles in both present-day Tamil and English), the film works like a charm because of the director’s honourable intentions and the raw manner in which the story is told.
Just ONE day to go for #Yaathisai – the massive action drama on screens from tomorrow!
Sneak Peek 2 – https://t.co/cttpibiJPs@venusinfotain @kjganesh082@SakthiFilmFctry @Ayngaran_offl @dhararasendran pic.twitter.com/rQnB3oR3kg
— Sakthi Film Factory (@SakthiFilmFctry) April 20, 2023
Every single actor in Yaathisai delivers.
A poster of ‘Yaathisai’. (Twitter)
Shakti Mithran as Ranadheera Pandian and Seyon as Kodhi, in particular, stand out. Both actors are exceptional when it comes to the fight sequences.
Seyon’s role is a little more challenging than that of Shakthi Mithran but both do a stellar job presenting their respective roles.
Rajalakshmi and Vaidhegi Amarnath as Devaradiyar women, too, impress us.
Guru Somasundaram as an Eyinan priest appears only for a brief period but delivers what is necessary.
Music director Chakravarthy’s background score is apt and intensifies the mood and the emotion being showcased on screen.
Yaathisai is not without its share of problems though.
A poster of ‘Yaathisai’ movie. (Twitter)
The male actors, in many sequences, are often sparsely dressed. Especially, during intense fight sequences, the warriors are dressed only in a loin cloth. This might make some audiences squirm in their seats.
Next, the film is extremely violent with several sequences showcasing in detail how wars were fought.
It has at least two sequences where sacrifices are shown being offered to deities.
In one scene, a goat, a buffalo and a human are shown being sacrificed and in another, five soldiers who wish victory for their king offer themselves as human sacrifices.
These scenes are extremely disturbing and might not appeal to everybody.
Towards the end of the flick, the director presents some of his political thoughts on the developments. However, not all are acceptable.
But then, these are trivial issues in an otherwise great film.
Yaathisai, which stands tall, could well mark the beginning of a new trend in storytelling in Tamil cinema.
(Views expressed are personal.)
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