Yaanai Mugathaan[a] (transl.Elephant-faced God) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language fantasy comedy written and directed by Rejishh Midhila. The film stars Yogi Babu and Ramesh Thilak with Urvashi, Karunakaran, Uday Chandra and Naaga Vishaal in supporting roles.[2] The film is a remake of the director's Innu Muthal.

Yaanai Mugathaan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRejishh Midhila
Written byRejishh Midhila
Produced by
  • Rejishh Midhila
  • Lijo James
Starring
CinematographyKarthik S Nair
Edited bySyalo Sathyan
Music byBharath Sankar
Production
company
The Great Indian Cinemas
Distributed byUFO Moviez India Limited
Release date
  • 21 April 2023 (2023-04-21)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

The film is about an auto driver who is a devotee of Lord Ganesha. The film was released on 21 April 2023.[3]

Plot

edit

The film revolves around an ardent Lord Ganesha devotee Ganesan who is also a lazy wastrel, who survives lying and cheating people. He has only two souls to support, one is his friend Michael who is also a wastrel. The other person is Malli Akka who supports him and his friend with finance and home. One day Lord Ganesha comes before Ganesan and questions his way of life. How Ganesan mends his way and realises life forms rest of the movie.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

This is the Tamil debut of Malayalam film director Rejishh Midhila.[4] The director, Rejishh Midhila, produced the film with Lijo James. The cinematography was by cinematographer Karthik S Nair. The film's editing was handled by Syalo Sathyan.[5]

Music

edit
Yaanai Mugathaan
Soundtrack album by
Bharath Sankar
Released2023
Recorded2022–2023
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length11:44
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music India
ProducerBharath Sankar
Bharath Sankar chronology
Ammu
(2022)
Yaanai Mugathaan
(2023)
Maaveeran
(2023)

The music for the film was composed by Bharath Sankar. This is a second collaboration between the music composer and actor Yogi Babu after the film Mandela. All songs were penned by C. M. Lokesh.[6][7]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Dhoora Vaaney"C. M. LokeshSathyaprakash Dharmar4:20
2."Aala Aala"C. M. LokeshAnthony Daasan3:34
3."Dhoora Vaaney"C. M. LokeshBharath Sankar3:50
Total length:11:44

Release

edit

The film was released on 21 April 2023.

Reception

edit

Logesh Balachandran of The Times of India rated the film three out of five stars and wrote, "Although Yaanai Mugathaan reminds us of other films such as Arai En 305-il Kadavul and Vinodhaya Sitham, it successfully manages to keep us engrossed in the world it has created."[8] Jayabhuvaneshwari B of Cinema Express gave the film a rating of two out of five stars and wrote that "While the message is a well-intentioned one, the aimless writing makes the denouement unsatisfying."[9]

P Sangeetha of OTTplay rated the film two out of five stars and wrote that "This Yogi Babu and Ramesh Thilak fantasy comedy, which has its heart in the right place, is marred by a vague storyline that hardly evinces any interest or empathy for the characters."[10] A critic from Dinamalar gave the film a rating of two out of five stars and opined that the story the director chose was interesting, but the screenplay is not interesting enough.[11]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ The film's title refers to God Vinayakar, who has an elephant face. The lead actor, Yogi Babu, plays the role of God Vinayagar.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ "'Yaanai Mugathaan': God as a storytelling device". The New Indian Express. 3 April 2023. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. ^ Lakshmi, V. "Yogi Babu plays Lord Ganesha in this fantasy drama". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Yogi Babu's 'Yaanai Mugathan' shifts its release date from April 14 to THIS date". The Times of India. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Director Rejishh Midhila opens up about his upcoming fantasy drama Yaanai Mugathaan". Cinema Express. 2 April 2023. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Yogi Babu's Yaanai Mugathaan gets release date". Cinema Express. 2 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Yaanai Mugathaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - All Songs - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn". JioSaavn. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Yaanai Mugathaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Spotify. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Yaanai Mugathaan Movie Review : A well-intentioned film on the goodness within us". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Yaanai Mugathaan movie review: Ambiguous writing makes this 'faith-full' film a half-empty watch". Cinema Express. 21 April 2023. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Yaanai Mugathaan Review". www.ottplay.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  11. ^ "யானை முகத்தான் - விமர்சனம் {2/5} : யானை முகத்தான் - பக்திமான் - Yaanai Mugathaan". Dinamalar. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
edit