On a tempestuous monsoon night, the former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, portrayed with convincing depth by the esteemed Mammootty, awakens prematurely. Restless, he strides to the foyer, only to discover his son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, played by the talented Jiiva, also grappling with unease. An ineffable tension lingers, unspoken, between them. With a simple gesture, Jagan hands his father a glass of water, an act charged with felicity, unaware it would be their last such exchange. As YSR sips the water, a roll of thunder bellows, marking the scene with a poignant crescendo in director Mahi V Raghav’s significant Telugu film, ‘Yatra 2’.
This poignant moment encapsulates the complex relationship between father and son on the eve of a fatal decision, leading the audience to ponder the consequences had YSR heeded his wife Vijayalakshmi’s, or Vijayamma’s (played by Ashrita Vemuganti), misgivings and avoided that ill-fated helicopter journey. ‘Yatra 2’, the sequel to the 2019 biopic, recounts the narrative of YS Jagan’s ascent, his establishment as a political force following his father’s demise. The film has been released deliberately months before elections and does not shy away from its eulogistic stance. YSR and Jagan are depicted as faultless paragons, while their political adversaries are consistently portrayed in negative light. Yet, despite these biases, ‘Yatra 2’ manages to occasionally find its rhythm as an intimate story of familial ties and legacy.
Cinematographer Madhie and music composer Santhosh Narayanan lend their deft crafts to create a gripping drama, building upon the foundation laid by Sathyan Sooryan and composer K in the original ‘Yatra’. The film employs subdued color palettes, often shifting to warmer hues as it interweaves cinematic reconstructions of real-life events with actual footage of the central figures — YSR, Jagan, and the populace that mourned a beloved leader’s untimely passing. Santhosh’s background score gracefully underscores the unfolding drama without overwhelming it. This storytelling prowess is especially evident in early scenes that showcase YSR’s manifest urge to aid a young girl with a hearing impairment, enhanced by Mammootty’s stately presence and nuanced performance.
Tributes to classic films like ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Thevar Magan’ are subtly interwoven into the fabric of ‘Yatra 2’, revealed through small gestures and expressions like Jagan’s reluctance to eclipse his father amidst the adulation of their followers. These contrasts are juxtaposed with later scenes that see Jagan commanding the centre stage, embodying a leader who has arrived in his own right. Jiiva, embodying Jagan, delivers an authentic and credible portrayal.
Nevertheless, when the narrative shifts to the confrontations between Jagan and the political establishment, the depiction of his opponents as manipulative and unprincipled becomes repetitive and heavy-handed. Even comic relief – like the “Progress party” playing the central government and satirical scenes featuring ‘Madam’ (Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi) – can’t sufficiently distract from the overt caricaturing of real-life political figures, particularly during interactions with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. While Mahesh Manjrekar’s portrayal of Chandrababu Naidu eventually finds some semblance of dimensionality, reflecting shrewd political tactics, the overarching representation is slanted.
The latter part of the film, although dramatizing significant political movements like the ‘odarpu yatra’ and Jagan’s rise to leadership with some impact, eventually becomes tedious, stretching the narrative too thinly. Yet, performances by Jiiva, Ashrita Vemuganti, and Ketaki Narayan (as YS Bharati) retain a degree of engagement despite this imbalance. These actresses particularly mirror their real-life counterparts with an uncanny exactitude.
Director Mahi Raghav incorporates dialogues designed to resonate with the masses, eliciting applause from audiences; these tactful inclusions bolster the film’s emotional core. However, they do little to counterbalance a storyline that, for all its political intrigues and yatras, ultimately meanders and fails to sustain interest. While the film insightfully charts Jagan’s political journey, diverging from the Progress party and facing defeat in the 2014 elections before his ascension to Chief Minister in 2019, it notably excludes discussion on the critical 2014 bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the formation of Telangana, as well as the absence of significant characters like Y S Sharmila. The focus remains tightly on Jagan’s personal political odyssey.
‘Yatra 2’ remains a mixed offering, a cinematic concoction of political commentary and familial tribute. For some, the film will succeed as an evocation of YSR’s legacy and Jagan’s determination. For others, the overt political allegiances may render the drama too skewed to resonate completely. Whether or not ‘Yatra 2’ galvanizes the electoral base or merely serves as a testament to an enduring lineage, its depiction of the bond between father and son amidst the whirlwind of politics will be its enduring image.
