Yashoda REVIEW: Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer is a one-woman show with new concept and engaging twists

Film: Yashoda

Directed by: Hari-Harish

Star Cast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Unni Mukundan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Murali Sharma

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 3/5 stars

Yashoda Movie Review 

Going to Indian mythology, we all are well aware of how Yashoda cared for Lord Krishna dearly, despite being a foster mother. And, tales about her only speak of how she was all about her love, affection, and caring like a mother to Lord Krishna. Coming to reel life, the Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer Yashoda stays true to its name and is a one-woman show. While Samantha impresses with her stellar performance, she struggles, fights, and faces challenges while being pregnant and protecting her child. However, even with a new concept, plot twists, and turns, Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s Yashoda was an engaging watch but came with its flaws.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Samantha (@samantharuthprabhuoffl)

The movie opens with Samantha as Yashoda seated with a doctor, all set to be a surrogate mother. It is thorough in the beginning how surrogacy was the sole option to Yashoda (Samantha) when it came to protecting a loved one. Despite her pregnancy complications, Yashoda is hell-bent on being a surrogate in exchange for money, to support her sister’s treatment.

Eventually, Yashoda agrees to be a surrogate and is moved to a healthcare facility for surrogate mothers. As she begins to understand the facility and its workings, Yashoda learns about illegal activities at the facility. In a quest to bring the perpetrators to justice, pregnant Yashoda takes us through how she discovers the shocking truths about the facility and its functioning.

While the Hari-Harish directorial is filled with twists and turns, the first half of the movie is gripping. However, after the interval, one tends to lose the sense of the movie, trying to find the logic behind how a pregnant woman can jump off a table and perform high-octane stunts. Well, even if one goes with the fact that “Maa, Maa hoti hai (A mother is a mother)“, I could not find any sense in it. It’s not practical and sane for a pregnant woman to perform high-octane stunts as it would clearly affect her baby.

Anyways, moving forward! Even though the director brings in an entirely intriguing screenplay with a new concept, it fails to reach its mark. The second half gets rather interesting towards the end, but again, the narrative falls short of the bang-on climax we’d all expect with a plot like that of Yashoda.

Story

Yashoda revolves around a young woman of the same name, played by Samantha, who decides to become a surrogate in exchange for money. She is moved to a surrogacy facility named Eva, owned by Madhu (Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar). While everything goes well for Yashoda, an incident at the center harnesses doubt in her mind. This doubt further leads to Yashoda trying to unravel the truth behind the surrogacy mafia.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Samantha (@samantharuthprabhuoffl)

Star Performances

Samantha Ruth Prabhu plays the titular role in this movie. The actress leaves you mesmerized with her action sequences and her faultless performance. She emerges as a star in the film. And, Samantha gets as good as one can be as she performs some high-octane action stunts.

Unni Mukundan, playing the role of the scientist at the surrogacy facility shines throughout. The actor manages to prove his acting prowess with his stunning performance.

Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar, who plays Madhu is impressive to watch. She does a decent job with her character.

Direction/Screenplay

Hari-Harish fairs well with the execution of the screenplay. However, the plot has a few loose ends that go unnoticed. And, with these loose ends, one might clearly be left unimpressed. I was! While the director brings forward a new concept, at some points, the movie fails in terms of logic. For example, Samantha easily escaping through cameras, or be it the portrayal of a pregnant woman performing action stunts, or Madhu’s backstory; it all literally does not make sense.

Conclusion

Overall, the director does a fair job with Yashoda. While the performances by Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Unni Mukundan shine throughout the movie, the interesting twists and turns will keep you hooked on to your seat. Despite the flaws, Yashoda is a decent watch. And, I recommend watching it in theatres for that ‘edge-of-the-seat’ thriller experience.

Watch Yashoda trailer, after the review:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SRIDEVI MOVIES (@sridevimovies)

Also Read: Yashoda Twitter Review: Netizens hail Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer, heap praise on actress’ action-packed performance