Akion Entertainment and Thinking Bird Production’s Yaatris (UA) is the story of a middle-class family from Varanasi and their holiday trip to Bangkok.
Pushkar Sharma (Raghubir Yadav) works as a lab incharge in a hospital. He lives in Varanasi with wife Saroj (Seema Pahwa), daughter Meenu (Jamie Lever) and son Mahi (Anuraag Malhan). Theirs is a middle-class family. After Pushkar retires, he takes his family on a holiday to Bangkok. What all happens in Bangkok forms the crux of the story.
Aryan Saha has written a story and screenplay, which engage the viewers but just about. Had the drama consisted of a lot of entertaining comedy, it would’ve at least made the audience laugh. But the little comedy there is, it hardly makes the viewers laugh or even smile. Emotions are conspicuous by their absence. The drama doesn’t even appeal like a slice-of-life one. Aryan Saha’s dialogues are ordinary.
Raghubir Yadav does very well in the role of Pushkar Sharma. Seema Pahwa acts ably as Saroj. Jamie Lever is okay as Meenu. Anuraag Malhan is so-so as Mahi. Chahat Khanna is average in a tiny role as Sonam, ex-girlfriend of Mahi. M.K. Raina does a fair job in a brief role as retired jailer Tyagi. Ghanshyam Garg is ordinary as Karamchand. RJ Rocky (as Anand) and Lokesh Pandit (as Babloo) pass muster.
Harish Vyas’ direction is routine. Saurabh Kalsi and Rohit Sharma’s music is ordinary. Lyrics (Shellee and Pradeep Sharma Khusro) are okay. Saurabh Kalsi’s background music is alright. Faroukh Mistry’s camerawork is average, and so is Ritesh Jadhav’s production designing. Editing (Vikas Arora and Gaurangi Vyas) leaves something to be desired.
On the whole, Yaatris is too ordinary to do anything even remotely worthwhile at the box-office.
Released on 24-11-’23 at Metro Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Platoon Distribution. Publicity & opening: poor. …….Also released all over.