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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: *
"Yagna" was publicized as an action-oriented horror
film, but it ends up as a horror of horrors. This Kannada film is illogical and
uninspiring and seems to have gone terribly wrong in every department.
Two things become apparently clear after seeing director Krishna Brahma`s "Yagna"
- firstly a talented actor like Sree Murali, who had a great beginning with a
film like "Chandra Chakori", seems to have perfected the art of
choosing wrong subjects. And secondly, Krishna Brahma needs to brush up his
narratorial skills.
"Yagna" lacks freshness and its narration is pedestrian. Producer
Shankar has taken the storyline from actor Charmmee`s successful Telugu film
"Manthra", which released just a year ago. Krishna has just made some
cosmetic changes to present his own version of "Manthra".
To make the project economically viable, producer Shankar has included many
Telugu artists like Jayaprakash Reddy, Venu Madhav, M.S. Narayan and L.B. Sriram.
Krishna Brahma repeats the same old stereotypes associated with almost every
other horror flick - door locks being opened, curtains oscillating, antique
objects shown in different angles - and nothing of these gimmicks take you to
the edge of your seat.
And many sequences of the film are predictable. The film comes into life just
before the climax, but the director has floundered in this as well.
The film is about Anji, a carefree youngster who works for a city-based don.
Known to be a daredevil, Anji is sent to a haunted house by the don, who wants
to usurp the property. Anji goes into the cursed house with his friends and is
witness to the weird goings-on in the house.
In the meanwhile, Yagna, a music student,, comes to the house along with her
friends on a project. But a murder in the house forces Anji and Yagna`s friends
to leave the house.
As the story progresses, Yagna declares her love for Anji and wants to marry
him. She also reveals that she is the legal heir of the disputed property.
But Anji goes ahead with his investigations into the murder and it is later
revealed that he is actually a police officer.
Sree Murali may have to refuse projects like "Yagna" now onwards. He
is good in action sequences, but his efforts are wasted because of the poor
narrative. Debutant actress Priyanka indulges in a lot of skin show in the song
sequences.
The so-called comedy by Om Prakash Rao and a galaxy of Telugu artists are in
poor taste.
Krishna Brahma has also failed to bring the best out of the technicians. Music
director Murali Krishna, who gave a few good tunes in his first film "Neene
Neene", has fumbled in his compositions. Nothing special can be written
about Niranjan Babu`s camera work either.
"Yagna" is an ordinary film. It may not be liked even by fans of the
horror genre.