Yajamana Review: A mass entertainer with a social message that should appeal to all audiences

Yajamana has an intelligent story with rustic roots. It is a film that questions the expansion of big brands. This forms the crux of the Darshan-starrer, which looks at the struggles of holding on to values, in the time of high-powered and unavoidable globalisation. 

The directorial debut of popular music director V Harikrishna, Yajamana reflects a deep and genuine sincerity, highlighting a characteristic that is identifiable in rural India. 

Devi Shetty (Thakur Anoop Singh), a business magnate in Mumbai, owns an oil company which has a presence across India, except in one village, Hulidurga. The reason? This place manufactures its own oil. Meanwhile, Krishna (Darshan), an oil extractor who grows up in the village, owns a brand called Nandi. His life, and that of everyone in the village, is disrupted when Devi tries to woo the local oil extractors to partner with his brand. Will Devi succeed? Or will Krishna fight back, build his own brand, and become the saviour of his village? This forms the crux of Yajamana.

Director: V Harikrishna 
Cast: Darshan, Rashmika Mandanna, Tanya Hope,  Thakur Anoop Singh

Harikrishna sends across a strong message with a simple story. The glorification of the subject is brought out through the dialogues written by Chethan Kumar. Special mention needs to be made about the sets created by Shashidhar Adapa and the rich production values. Cinematographer Shreesha Kuduvalli, too, has done well. However, the pacing is off, and the film slows down on more than one occasion. A better job by the editing department could have made a lot of difference.

Darshan delivers a class act in Yajamana, and his performance is sure to linger in the minds of the audience. Rashmika Mandanna is impressive as Darshan's love interest and performs well as Kaveri, a village girl. Tanya Hope, in her debut, makes her presence felt in the role of a journalist. Dhananjay’s character is interesting and we wish he'd been given more screen space. While Devaraj and Dattanna play vital roles, Ravi Shankar’s role is cliched. Sadhu Kokila, Shivaraj KR Pete, Mandya Ramesh, Sanju Bassaiah and Hitesh do their bit to provide comic relief.

Harikrishna, who has also scored the music, does an excellent job with the songs, especially Shivanandi and Nintha Nodo Yajamana. Ondu Munjane is a soothing romantic track, while the peppy song, Bassani Ba, is sure to appeal to the masses.

Yajamana does make us give serious thought to globalisation and monopoly, and with both mass and class elements, it should work well for all kinds of audiences.