It is impossible to write a run-of-the-mill review for a Gautham Menon film follows the format of introduction, synopsis, a short critical perspective and finally, a verdict. Usually, the story itself can be said in a few lines. but even an A3 sheet may be insufficient to describe the experience of Yemaaya Chesave.

So, you'll thank me for this review which is a little shorter than the ones I tend to write and here, I have but a few brief words for the storyline itself, followed by a masterful effort to NOT gush over some of the stupendous work in the movie and a speedy roundup and verdict - but this is only because I neither have the space nor the vocabulary to do justice to the experience of watching this movie.

Karthik is our young hero. A 22-year-old man who has just finished his engineering degree and has cinema on his brain - he wants to become a film-maker one day. He is no shirker in his efforts; his days are spent knocking down doors of film directors' offices and studio hangars, hoping for a chance at assisting an established film-maker. And then one day, Jessie breezes into his life. Do you remember the 'Thunderbolt Effect' in The Godfather series when Michael Corleone first meets Appolonia? That is what Karthik feels when he sees Jessie from afar. She lives upstairs on their two-level independent home and barely notices him for the first few weeks. Then the contrived "chance" encounter by Karthik on their rooftop, the fervently planned meeting at a KFC joint where Jessie works, the way he blurts his love to her, his impulsive trip all the way to her native Alapuzha to apologize to her for that, their discovery of their love and - the strongest element in their love story - whether they are fated to be together or part ways, given their tumultuous environment.

Jessie looks barely out of her teens, so fresh and doe-eyed is her appearance. Yet, she is not only an intelligent and well-grounded young woman, she is an year older than Karthik! And she is the yang to his yin. Where Karthik is full of, "Let's do it! Let's face the world, even our families and let's be together! Let's fearlessly shout our love from the rooftops!", Jessie is full of, "This is the worst-ever life plan. It would never work between us, thanks to my family and our religions. This would never work because I am so indecisive about making such emotional decisions!"

Jessie is torn between her love for Karthik and loyalty to her family. Will you cross the skies for me? This is the premise of the entire Karthik-Jessie love story. Will he wait forever for her? Will she cross her own hurdles to come to him? Will they run away from the world and be together? Will they fall prey to each other's diametrically opposite perspectives and lose out on love?

You can fall in love with Naga Chaitanya's Karthik. He has that glint of wry humour and sarcasm in his eye, he has that underplayed sexuality, the subtle hints of young love and young lust and glimpses of raw emotion - be it anger, frustration or rage. From the first moment one sees him on screen to the last shot, Naga Chaitanya stays with you all the way. It would be impossible to see him again in any of his gyrating, fancy-move-making movies after this one. Samantha is the essence of angelic beauty. Innocent without losing her savvy; vulnerable without seeming helpless; confused in matters of the heart, without looking fickle.

Just like Vaaranam Aayiram, Yemaaya Chesave too is not a story but a process of story-telling. The movie is one long flow of emotions and incidents and not really a neatly categorized tale. Great for a seamless screenplay and showing the beauty of every moment, unfettered by the framework of any particular need in the script to move the next level. In this lies its minuses as well. For, at times, there seems to be little progression in the lives of Karthik and Jessie as he chases her and she tremulously reciprocates her love for him. It almost seems as if the entire movie is a struggle for him to convince her to defy the world and be with him; so also it seems she is constantly in turmoil, telling him to run away from a futile relationship even as she showers her love upon him. One almost feels the urge to stand up and tell Jessie, "Look at the boy! What are you waiting for! Will you please go for it!"

The movie has been beautifully shot. This is perhaps the first Tamil movie I have seen in a long time that is comparable to a progressive Hindi or English movie. The camera angles, the expressions of the actors, the muted, Mani Ratnam-style of dialogue delivery, the finely choreographed fight sequences, the subtle ways of bringing out the personalities of the protagonists. perfect. While I personally find the last parts of the movie a little lagging behind in pace and intrigue, I can't help but give full marks for technical efficiency of screenplay and editing. Between Gautham, Manoj, Rajeevan and Anthony, Yemaaya Chesave is a beautiful moving painting. Perhaps an elegant snip here and there in the second half would make it even tighter and focused.

There are interesting quirks in the storyline that bring in some personal elements: a brief glimpse of an actual movie being made by Gautham as we speak, the journey of Karthik (who once wanted to work with "director Gautham Menon" when he went looking for a job) as a struggling filmmaker, the taboo of working in the cinema industry and the engineering and science-math backgrounds of Karthik and Jessie remind us of Gautham himself or, if you're from Chennai, the familiar institutions and favourite hangouts of our growing-up lives.

For sheer beauty of every shot, for Naga Chaitanya's excellent work, for A.R. Rahman's achingly beautiful music, for Samantha's angelic presence, for the director's sleek screenplay and for the love of good cinema - please watch it!

Beware: Learn to ignore the stagnancy of pace sometimes or the lack of progression to the next level in Jessie and Karthik's relationship. Clarity will find you toward the end.

Review by Shakthi Girish

Please note: Every review on Galatta.com is written by the person who has watched the movie. Therefore, while conscious effort is made to give a fair, unbiased and ethical opinion, every review will have a personal element and opinion to it. Ultimately, every movie experience is a personal one and readers should watch each movie on their own terms.