Yajaman Explained

Director:R. V. Udayakumar
Screenplay:R. V. Udayakumar
Story:Sujatha Udayakumar
Cinematography:Karthik Raja
Editing:B. S. Nagaraj
Music:Ilaiyaraaja
Studio:AVM Productions
Runtime:153 minutes
Country:India
Language:Tamil

Yajaman is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by R. V. Udayakumar. The film stars Rajinikanth, Meena and Aishwarya, with M. N. Nambiar, Manorama, Vijayakumar and Napoleon in supporting roles. It was produced by M. Saravanan, M. S. Guhan and M. Subrahmaniam of AVM Productions. The film was released on 18 February 1993 and became commercially successful, with a 175-day theatrical run.

Plot

Kandhavelu Vaanavarayan is a feudal chieftain, adored and respected by the people of his village near Pollachi. He lives with his grandparents. Following his advice, they abstain from voting in the elections and instead, pool the money given by the candidates to get themselves some basic amenities. Vallavaraayan is his archenemy. Their enmity is further sharpened when Vaanavarayan wins the hand of Vaitheeswari, whom Vallavaraayan had also wished to wed. Vallavaraayan then convinces the priest of the village temple to mix poison in the holy water that Vaitheeswari drinks. As a result, she becomes incapable of conceiving a baby. But surprisingly, Vaitheeswari soon becomes pregnant, though she has pretended with the help of the mid-wife, to do so to uphold her husband's honour. However, she takes poison and kills herself during the Seemantham celebration, unable to bear the grief of being incapable of giving her husband a child and on her deathbed makes Vaanavarayan swear to take Ponni as his wife. Vaanavarayan however refuses until Ponni agrees to marry Sembattai- Vallavarayan's henchman-who abandons her to Vallavarayan's vice. Infuriated, Vaanavarayan attacks Vallavarayan, but spares his life after giving him a sermon on how to win the hearts of people.

Production

After the success of Chinna Gounder (1992), director R. V. Udayakumar was approached by various producers but he was unsure as to who should play the part of the hero for his next film. Subsequently, he decided to cast Rajinikanth as the hero for his next film. Rajinikanth agreed to act under the direction of Udayakumar. The director expressed his interest to make this film for AVM Productions. Initially, a different script titled Jilla Collector was narrated,[1] but Udaykumar subsequently opted to film a different script altogether, which became Yajaman, since M. Saravanan of AVM felt that the original script might go over budget. Rajinikanth was initially reluctant to have Meena as the heroine because she had appeared as a child artist for his film Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984) and he felt that his fans might not readily accept this pairing. But he eventually agreed to have Meena play the part.[2] Yajaman was Rajinikanth's 141st film and his 8th collaboration with AVM Productions.[3] One of the filming locations was Samathur Jamindar Ramaraja Vanavarayar Palace at Pollachi while filming was also held at Andhra.[4]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Except for the song "Adi Raakumuthu" which was penned by Vaali, all other songs were penned by Udayakumar himself.[5] Many of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas; "Aalappol Velappol" is set in Sankarabharanam, "Yajaman Kaladi" is in Madhyamavati, "Nilave Mugam Kaattu" and "Oru Naalum" are set in Sindhubhairavi.[6]

Release and reception

Yajaman was released on 18 February 1993. When the film was released, it initially received unfavourable reception and did not do well in some areas. When Saravanan saw a letter written by a woman named Thilagavathi who reviewed the film, he used this letter as an advertisement for the film which led to the increase in collection. According to Saravanan, despite fans of Rajinikanth not liking the film, it picked up due to the support of general public.

Malini Mannath of The Indian Express wrote, "Yajaman is a well meant film from AVM and from director Udayakumar".[7] K. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "The film begins well but gets bogged down after the interval and the large number of songs do not help matters".[8] C. R. K. of Kalki praised the performances of artistes.[9] At the 14th Cinema Express Awards, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won the Best Playback Singer award.[10]

Legacy

Chinna Gounder and Yajaman started the trend of portrayals of village chieftain in Tamil films.[11] Director Rajmohan directed a film titled Vanavarayan Vallavarayan (2014) named after Rajinikanth and Napoleon's characters.[12] Dhanapal Padmanabhan who directed Krishnaveni Panjaalai (2012), rated Yajaman "as the film that best captured the village flavour and beauty of Pollachi".[13]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. News: 14 April 2016 . உதயகுமார் டைரக்ஷனில் ரஜினிகாந்த் . Rajinikanth in Udayakumar's direction . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200815131800/https://cinema.maalaimalar.com/cinema/cinehistory/2016/04/14225154/1004982/cinima-history-uthayakumar.vpf . 15 August 2020 . 15 May 2021 . . Tamil.
  2. Web site: 3 January 2013 . ஆர்.வி.உதயகுமார் டைரக்ஷனில் ஏவி.எம். தயாரித்த 'எஜமான்' வெள்ளி விழா கொண்டாடியது . Yajaman, produced by AVM under RV Udayakumar's direction celebrated silver jubilee . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141028132306/http://cinema.maalaimalar.com/2013/01/03212313/RV-Udayakumar-activator-direct.html . 28 October 2014 . 14 March 2014 . . ta.
  3. Web site: 5 March 2016 . 'ஜில்லா கலெக்ட'ருக்கு பதில் 'எஜமான்' முடிவானது! . Instead of Jilla Collector, Yajaman was finalised! . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20210515113833/http://www.dinamalarnellai.com/web/news/4411 . 15 May 2021 . 15 May 2021 . . ta . Nellai.
  4. சரவணன் . ஏவி.எம். . M. Saravanan (producer) . 19 June 2005 . சகலகலா வல்லவனில் கமல் நடித்திருக்க கூடாது! . 28 May 2023 . . 52–55 . Ta . Internet Archive.
  5. Web site: Ejamaan Tamil Audio Cassette . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210214041531/https://banumass.com/shop/ejamaan-tamil-audio-cassette/ . 14 February 2021 . 8 February 2021 . Banumass.
  6. News: Mani . Charulatha . Charulatha Mani . 10 May 2013 . Light and melodious . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210124042709/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/light-and-melodious/article4702358.ece . 24 January 2021 . 15 May 2021 . The Hindu.
  7. News: Mannath . Malini . 19 February 1993 . Inconsistent . 5 January 2019 . . 11 . Google News Archive.
  8. News: Vijiyan . K. . 6 March 1993 . Rajinikanth follows in MGR's path . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231022152309/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2OBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ChQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5391,2109819 . 22 October 2023 . 3 March 2020 . . 12 . Google News Archive.
  9. சி. ஆர். கே. . 21 March 1993 . எஜமான் . live . https://archive.today/20230205120828/https://archive.org/details/kalki1993-03-21/page/n33/mode/2up . 5 February 2023 . 9 November 2022 . . 32 . ta . Internet Archive.
  10. News: 13 March 1994 . Kizhakku Cheemayile adjudged best film . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408054633/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v2FlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G5QNAAAAIBAJ&pg=339,511626 . 8 April 2023 . 10 May 2021 . . 3 . . Express News Service.
  11. Web site: Top 10 Village Panchayat Presidents of Tamil Cinema Rajinikanth – Ejaman . live . https://archive.today/20210515115419/http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-4/village-presidents/rajinikanth.html . 15 May 2021 . 15 May 2021 . Behindwoods.
  12. News: Srinivasan . Sudhir . 12 September 2014 . Vanavarayan Vallavarayan: Siamese torture . live . https://archive.today/20210515115313/https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/vanavarayan-vallavarayan-movie-review/article6405155.ece . 15 May 2021 . 15 May 2021 . The Hindu.
  13. News: Jeshi . K. . 6 June 2014 . Creating a scene . live . https://archive.today/20210515115103/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/creating-a-scene/article6089611.ece . 15 May 2021 . 15 May 2021 . The Hindu.