Ahead of the 2019 election, Yatra, the biographical political drama based on late CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy hit the theaters. Now, ahead of the 2024 elections, the biopic of YS Jagan with the name Yatra 2 has hit the theaters. Let us see what the film has to offer.
Story: Yatra 2 starts with YS Rajasekhar Reddy(Mammootty) introducing YS Jagan(Jeeva) to the public and covers the incidents that happened after the demise of YSR. It predominantly revolves around the Praja Sankalpa yatra that Jagan did. Sonia Gandhi's character is the seeming antagonist in this film. The film ends with Jagan taking charge as the new CM of AP.
How did the actors perform?
It is not easy to recreate the mannerism and body language of alive and relevant politicians. But Jeeva has done a fine job with Yatra as he has delivered a fine performance in the role of YS Jagan. He got most of the mannerism right. Subalkekha Sudhakar, character artist Jeeva, and others fit very well in their roles. There are no implications of YS Sharmila, Pawan Kalyan, Chandrababu Naidu and others though.
What about the technical finesse?
Mahi V Raghav who earlier directed Yatra is back at the helm for the sequel now. While the first part had more of a cinematic narrative and presentation, this part looks like more of a propaganda film which is entirely made to highlight Jagan's character. As a result, there are too many emotional scenes on Jagan. This might work well with Jagan's fans but for the rest, it can be a bit too melodramatic.
The background score by Santosh Narayanan is very good. His songs are disappointing but he makes up with his re-recording. The visuals are of standard quality. The production values by UV Creations are good.
Analysis:
Right from the outset, Yatra 2 serves one purpose and one purpose only - that is to highlight Jagan's charisma and mass following. His character is show in a good light amidst all the CBI chaos, AP bifurcation issues, 2014 YCP's defeat and other happenings.
The film doesn't have the same cinematic depth as the first part as it is entirely intended to show Jagan as a mass hero. There are many commercial elevation dialogues from Sudhakar's character which make this biographical look like an exaggerated political ride.
But at the same time, YCP fans who are ardent followers of Jagan will find this film attractive. The elevation scenes and the exaggerated presentation will bode well with them. It appears that the director was clear on this front from the first da and he just wanted to make a product that appeases Jagan's group.
The story is anyway known to everyone so there is nothing much fresh on this front. The climax portion with Jagan taking charge as the CM can induce goosebumps for his fans.
Verdict: Yatra 2 caters entirely to YCP fans and followers. They might lap up the exaggerated elevation scenes and emotional blocks in the film. But for the common audience, it might be an average watch. For YCP opposing group, it could be a worthless propaganda film.
Rating: 2.5/5
