Monday, May 31, 2004
Review of "Yuva"
Finally caught up with Yuva during the weekend and here are my thoughts on the movie:
"Yuva" grabs you at the starting itself with all the three protagonists intermingling in a single frame that leads to a shocking shootout. (Any further details will spoil the suspense). Then the movie branches out into three stories of three different youth, Lallan (Abhishek Bachchan), Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan) and Arjun (Vivek Oberoi), who are charting out their respective lives in Kolkata until their paths cross.
Coming to the three protagonists, Lallan is a person who has grown up on the streets, a loud, exuberant, violent person who wants what he wishes for and can go to any length to get it. He works for a dirty politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya (Om Puri), the person who is responsible for getting all these three protagonists mixed up. His only soft spot is his romantic interest Sasi (Rani Mukherjee), who is the only person to have some semblance of control on him.
Michael is an idealist, a socially aware person, a person who is passionate about setting things right in his country. A statement from his sister to his mother describing him (“You should be proud of him. If Kolkata had 4 people like him, this place would have been infinitely better”) best reflects his personality and his attitude. His romantic interest is Esha Deol (the only weak character in the movie, whose presence or absence in the movie will not make any difference).
Arjun is the exact opposite of Michael in the sense that he is least concerned about things around him and “chill” is the one word to describe him. An incorrigible flirt, he meets his real love in Meera ( Kareena Kapoor) who is slated to marry another person very shortly.
All these three stories form the crux of the movie, with a catalyst scene of their paths crossing that leads to a fitting finale of the movie with a message suggesting that that it’s up to the youth of the country to do something about the present mess that the nation is facing. And the best way to resolve it is to get inside it, get into politics.
Abhishek Bachchan is the person who steals the show with his brilliant performance, an exhibition of unrestrained, simmering acting. Watch out for his antics in the picturization of the song Dol Dol. Even though he is on the wrong path, he does it so convincingly that you don’t feel anything wrong. And that is the hallmark of great acting, an actor who can convince the audience’s sentiments to be with him despite the wrong path he has chosen. Another performance that I was reminded of and which paralleled this was of Shah Rukh’s in Darr.
Ajay Devgan has his moments in the movie, especially in that most memorable scene of the movie that has been shot in the jail where in he explains esoteric equations to his classmates, writing feverishly with a chalk on the walls of the cell. Despite all this, it’s not a performance he would rank as one of his best. After seeing him in "Gangaajal", "Company" and "Zakhm", I believe that he could have definitely done better. And as far as Vivek Oberoi goes, he puts in a competent performance but has been clearly overshadowed by the two A’s, Ajay & Abhishek. Of the actresses, both Rani and Kareena within the limited screen presence they have, share the honors with top class performances.
Mani Ratnam’s movies are a delight for movie buffs interested in the technicalities of film making and this movie too lives up to the high standards of his previous movies. There is astounding photography on display that has been exquisitely shot by Ravi Chandran and breathtaking stunts by Vikram Dharma. The movie has been shot in the form of stories (reminding one of the cult movie “Pulp Fiction”,through which Quentin Tarantino broke the constraints of the typical format in which a movie had to flow) and in this kind of story telling, editing assumes primary importance and seven time national award winning Sreekar Prasad demonstrates to us as to why he deserves so much acclaim.
Rahman’s score in Yuva has already created waves and usually his background scores too are a delight, but surprisingly it’s quite subdued in this movie. Another huge surprise and a disappointment was the fact that the songs have been picturised in a pedestrian way. It’s quite uncharacteristic of Mani Ratnam, who in the past has shown us some amazingly shot songs to savor. Except for this glitch, Mani Ratnam once again demonstrates his hold over the craft of making movies and this movie will be a huge revelation to the North Indian audiences who have seen his “Dil Se..” earlier. As for the South Indian audiences who have grown up on a staple diet of his movies, I have my doubts as to whether this effort will make them forget “Dalapathi” or “Mouna Ragam” or that evergreen movie “Roja”.
All in all, Mani Ratnam has made a movie that is a must watch. It’s worth your time and money!
As for me, I am waiting to view “Aayitha Ezhuthu” to see as to who has excelled in the respective acting departments and then of course wait with bated breath to catch “Lakshya”.
Finally caught up with Yuva during the weekend and here are my thoughts on the movie:
"Yuva" grabs you at the starting itself with all the three protagonists intermingling in a single frame that leads to a shocking shootout. (Any further details will spoil the suspense). Then the movie branches out into three stories of three different youth, Lallan (Abhishek Bachchan), Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan) and Arjun (Vivek Oberoi), who are charting out their respective lives in Kolkata until their paths cross.
Coming to the three protagonists, Lallan is a person who has grown up on the streets, a loud, exuberant, violent person who wants what he wishes for and can go to any length to get it. He works for a dirty politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya (Om Puri), the person who is responsible for getting all these three protagonists mixed up. His only soft spot is his romantic interest Sasi (Rani Mukherjee), who is the only person to have some semblance of control on him.
Michael is an idealist, a socially aware person, a person who is passionate about setting things right in his country. A statement from his sister to his mother describing him (“You should be proud of him. If Kolkata had 4 people like him, this place would have been infinitely better”) best reflects his personality and his attitude. His romantic interest is Esha Deol (the only weak character in the movie, whose presence or absence in the movie will not make any difference).
Arjun is the exact opposite of Michael in the sense that he is least concerned about things around him and “chill” is the one word to describe him. An incorrigible flirt, he meets his real love in Meera ( Kareena Kapoor) who is slated to marry another person very shortly.
All these three stories form the crux of the movie, with a catalyst scene of their paths crossing that leads to a fitting finale of the movie with a message suggesting that that it’s up to the youth of the country to do something about the present mess that the nation is facing. And the best way to resolve it is to get inside it, get into politics.
Abhishek Bachchan is the person who steals the show with his brilliant performance, an exhibition of unrestrained, simmering acting. Watch out for his antics in the picturization of the song Dol Dol. Even though he is on the wrong path, he does it so convincingly that you don’t feel anything wrong. And that is the hallmark of great acting, an actor who can convince the audience’s sentiments to be with him despite the wrong path he has chosen. Another performance that I was reminded of and which paralleled this was of Shah Rukh’s in Darr.
Ajay Devgan has his moments in the movie, especially in that most memorable scene of the movie that has been shot in the jail where in he explains esoteric equations to his classmates, writing feverishly with a chalk on the walls of the cell. Despite all this, it’s not a performance he would rank as one of his best. After seeing him in "Gangaajal", "Company" and "Zakhm", I believe that he could have definitely done better. And as far as Vivek Oberoi goes, he puts in a competent performance but has been clearly overshadowed by the two A’s, Ajay & Abhishek. Of the actresses, both Rani and Kareena within the limited screen presence they have, share the honors with top class performances.
Mani Ratnam’s movies are a delight for movie buffs interested in the technicalities of film making and this movie too lives up to the high standards of his previous movies. There is astounding photography on display that has been exquisitely shot by Ravi Chandran and breathtaking stunts by Vikram Dharma. The movie has been shot in the form of stories (reminding one of the cult movie “Pulp Fiction”,through which Quentin Tarantino broke the constraints of the typical format in which a movie had to flow) and in this kind of story telling, editing assumes primary importance and seven time national award winning Sreekar Prasad demonstrates to us as to why he deserves so much acclaim.
Rahman’s score in Yuva has already created waves and usually his background scores too are a delight, but surprisingly it’s quite subdued in this movie. Another huge surprise and a disappointment was the fact that the songs have been picturised in a pedestrian way. It’s quite uncharacteristic of Mani Ratnam, who in the past has shown us some amazingly shot songs to savor. Except for this glitch, Mani Ratnam once again demonstrates his hold over the craft of making movies and this movie will be a huge revelation to the North Indian audiences who have seen his “Dil Se..” earlier. As for the South Indian audiences who have grown up on a staple diet of his movies, I have my doubts as to whether this effort will make them forget “Dalapathi” or “Mouna Ragam” or that evergreen movie “Roja”.
All in all, Mani Ratnam has made a movie that is a must watch. It’s worth your time and money!
As for me, I am waiting to view “Aayitha Ezhuthu” to see as to who has excelled in the respective acting departments and then of course wait with bated breath to catch “Lakshya”.
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