Yavanika is not a usual who-is-the-culprit type of suspense thriller. Its of a gener which is less used as stand alone in malayalam films-Mystery. When the director choose to not make the conventional method of hiding the culprit till the end, we could see a effective way of using a non-linear storytelling. Yavanika is undoubtedly a classic by its Rich characterisation, non linear storytelling, staging , Importantly the politics it speaks, And much more if you are looking for some brilliant direction.. There much more to discover in the film which don't intend to share here as it may spoil your experience..

The movie is not actually an 'investigative' one. There is hardly any investigation in the first part of the movie, there are no great twists and is kind of slow. Don't watch it if you are impatient.That being said, watch it for character development and for realism. Everything is in the right proportion in the movie. There are just one or two songs, but they are memorable ones. Alcoholism and the problems caused by it is the main theme in Yavanika, but K.G. George has seen to it that the movie does not look like a sermon from a preacher.Bharath Gopi's acting is excellent and realistic, even when we dislike his on-screen persona.

This is a well crafted movie with memorable characters. It easily stands the test of time because the acting, direction and production values are all quite comparable to today's Malayalam movies. Of course Gopi is the standout but Venu, Jalaja, Mammootty and even Ashokan as the rebellious son all play their parts well.The other reviewer criticises this for not being a true murder mystery, but I have to differ on two counts- the murderer isn't all that obvious and the movie really aspires to be more than a mere murder story. The drama troupe and the interactions of the varied characters, the social drama of the plight of the poor woman with 3 daughters, all are well portrayed.

There is no murder mystery here. If you expect a murder investigation or something in the lines of cbi diarykurippu, poirot/holmes style, you are in for a nasty surprise. Maybe at the time when it released it was a "new thing"..but even compared to world cinema at the same time, this pales badly in comparison. There are a lot of guys who feel this is a classic of sorts. They remind me of a malayalam proverb which tells of a frog in a well thinking the well is the world.Only saving grace of this film is the brilliant acting from Bharat gopi and Jalaja.You can see Mammootty in one of his early roles here.