Yashoda review: Samantha's performance & gripping story make it a hit

Hyderabad: Samantha's 'Yashoda' hit the screens on 11 November and opened to rave reviews. The film is duo Hari and Harish's directorial debut in Telugu and is produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad.

'Yashoda' is the tale of a woman (Yashoda played by Samantha) who becomes a surrogate mother. When she gets pregnant, she's taken to a facility where there are several other pregnant women just like her. Within a few days, Yashoda realises that the women who enter this facility to give birth are not allowed to have any connection with the outside world for nine months. When she starts digging deeper, Yashoda comes to know the dark secrets of surrogacy.

Yashoda concludes that Madhu (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar), the head of the facility, and Gowtham (Unni Mukundan), the doctor, are part of the medical mafia that has something to do with newborn babies. But Yashoda is not in the facility to deliver a baby but with another motive. What is this motive and what does Yashoda have to prove to the outside world?

Meanwhile, cops are investigating the murder of Aarushi who is a top model in the country. During the investigation, the cops find that Aarushi's murder has something to do with the field of cosmetics and beauty. Does Aarushi's murder have any connection with the facility? What are Madhu and Gowtham trying to hide?

Performances and technicalities

Samantha is back on the big screen with a bang after two long years. With 'Yashoda, she has delivered her career's best performance. Kudos to the actress who has done all the action sequences in the film. Keeping her health condition in mind, it is absolutely valid to say that she outdid herself in the role of Yashoda besides delivering a great emotional performance. Nobody else could have played the character better than her.

Actors Kalpika Ganesh, Divya Sripada, Rao Ramesh, Sampath, Murali Sharma, Shatru, and others have also done a good job in their respective roles.

Directors Hari and Harish, who are known for making sci-fi films such as 'Ambuli' and 'Jumbulingam', came up with the story for 'Yashoda' after finding articles about surrogacy in the newspapers. They have added emotions to the story and done it beautifully. The script has no faults and the screenplay, narration, and characterisation hit their mark.

Art director Ashok has worked his magic with the production design. The production quality is of high standards and it makes the film look rich. Sivalenka Krishna Prasad, the producer of the film, has spent huge money on the making of the film. Mani Sarma's music and background score pour life into every scene.

On the whole, with mind-blowing performances and a gripping story, 'Yashoda' is worth watching this weekend.