This is not a spoiler-free review

Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida, referred to as “the TikTok movie” by many, held its red carpet premiere last week at Scope Cinemas, Colombo City Centre, ahead of its island-wide release on 3 March, which The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity to attend.

The movie is written and directed by Dilshara Jayamanna and produced by Rasitha Jinasena. It is being promoted as Sri Lanka’s first fashion movie. The movie stars Shereen Willis as Steffi, a young fashion student who has one goal; have her design worn by fashion icon Minella (played by Sarah Illyas).

Storyline

Steffi’s best friend since childhood Mithun (played by Eraj Gunewardane), and for his bad luck nicknamed Mouse, supports her in her work as a designer. Colombo College of Art and Design, the fashion school Steffi attends, gives the students an assignment where the best design would be worn by Minella at the National Fashion Awards (NFA).

Steffi’s design isn’t chosen, so the best friends hatch a plan to make Steffi’s dream a reality, which involves getting close to fashion designer Luca (played by Yureni Noshika), who they plan to meet at a party that Steffi attends as a dancer. However, things fall apart at the party, with Steffi overreacting when Mithun – who somehow sneaks into this exclusive party as a waiter – fails to recognise Luca, who slips him her card.

Steffi gets drunk that night and posts a video online, insulting the head of the fashion school (played by Dinakshie Priyasad), which results in her expulsion. This makes Steffi declare the death of fashion and call for a boycott of the fashion industry online, which gains traction. Meanwhile, she also plans a funeral for the dress she designed for Minella, which takes her, of all places, to a funeral parlour.

Parallel to this is the best friends’ realisation that they have feelings for each other, but despite the movie’s title implying focus would be on if Steffi and Mithun are friends or more than friends, this feels like a minor plot, hidden beneath Colombo life and the world of fashion that many of us are not privy to.

Targeting the younger cinemagoer

According to a statement issued by the team, the inspiration behind Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida is director Dilshara Jayamanna’s desire to shine the spotlight on a significant cultural shift in the way today’s youth approach, experience and partake in pop culture. And the movie is definitely targeted at Sri Lanka’s youth.

The fashion element of the movie must be commended, with the only exception perhaps being Dinakshie Priyasad’s outfits, which mostly look terrible, even to someone who has no sense of style. The movie also has that crisp, clean finish that many local movies don’t have. It’s beautiful to watch, and the music is catchy. The team also states that the song Tharunai by DJ Mass and Romaine Willis is the first Electronic Dance Music (EDM) track in a Sinhala movie.

This is also the first Sinhala movie to have an Anime sequence, created by young designer Sejini Ratnayake. This movie is definitely a first; it is modern, refreshing, and different. However, whether this makes it a good movie is a whole different matter altogether.

Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida is being described as a Netflix-flavoured Sinhala romantic comedy for the TikTok age, and this is an accurate description of the movie. Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t – and that’s what made it a good watch. It’s nice to watch in the way one may watch a teen/young-adult film or drama series on Netflix.



Inconsistencies

However, the storyline is quite weak, with many inconsistencies and scenes and characters that seem unnecessary. For instance, Steffi and Mithun visit a tattoo artist late one night because Steffi wants to do something she will regret the next morning. Steffi never gets the tattoo, and the tattoo artist is seen doodling on Steffi’s belly with none of the usual preparation a tattoo artist would carry out. The conversation Steffi and Mithun have at the tattoo studio could have been had without the need for a new location and a new character.

There is also the slightly older man who seems to prey on Steffi at the party. He makes the bouncers get rid of Mithun, and we later find out that Steffi’s friends had to get her away from the man. We never find out who this man is or why this scene was necessary. Mithun could have been removed from the party without the need for a new character who, like the tattoo artist, doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose – especially since the movie doesn’t explore the dangers one could face at parties and other social events.

Steffi doesn’t hear from Mithun for a few days and is convinced he is now with Luca, who is somewhat older than him. While Mithun isn’t a minor and the age gap isn’t that wide, Luca comes across as predatory – the female version of the man mentioned above. Through Luca’s social media, we see that Mithun is spending time with her, and he later tells Steffi that Luca wanted him to live with her until the NFA in exchange for having Minella wear Steffi’s design. He has no access to his phone or the internet during this time.

While this raises so many questions, one can’t help but wonder how a young man like Mithun can go missing for days without his parents worrying. One can’t also help but feel a tad bit envious about the way Steffi’s mother reacts to her expulsion from fashion school. One is also left wondering about Steffi’s drunken behaviour – despite waking up the next morning with no memory of where she is or how she got there or the video she posted online, Steffi isn’t affected by slurred speech, hangovers or any of the other adverse effects of alcohol consumption that most of us are.

And while there are so many other questions that one can ask about this movie, Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida is perhaps not about asking questions. Maybe it is about taking whatever is given to the audience, enjoying it, and leaving any analysis or criticism behind when one leaves the theatre. And to be honest – we do like this about movies, at times. It is sometimes refreshing to be able to just enjoy a movie without having to pay attention to every minute detail.

Thus while the overall storyline and characters do need a lot more improvement, Dilshara Jayamanna’s Yaaluwoda Yaaluyida can qualify as watchable cinema, especially to the audience it targets.