There are some names which don`t need any explanations.These are such names which say it all.A classic example of my statement is Mani Ratnam.Whenever his name is associated with anything the expectations are sky-high and why they shouldn`t be?After all,by giving us masterpieces such as ?Bombay?,?Roja? or ?Dil Se??(never mind if it flopped at the box-office),he has gained our trust but trust can sometimes mislead you and this is exactly the case with ?Yuva?-Mani Ratnam`s latest product.
THE FILM:
Madras Talkies.?Yuva?,directed by Mani Ratnam stars Ajay Devgan,Abhishek Bachchan,Vivek Oberoi,Rani Mukherjee,Karreina Kapoor,Esha Deol and Om Puri.The film ?Yuva? took a long time to release.There was an unfortunate accident of Vivek Oberoi,due to which he injured his leg and had to survive a lot.Then,Simran,a south-indian actress,left the film who was supposed to play Esha Deol`s part.Esha Deol stepped in the film,who starred in the original version of this film-?Ayutha Ezhuthu?.After so much of problems and hard work,the outcome is poor.
THE CHARACTERS AND PERFORMANCES:
1.Michael Mukherjee(Ajay Devgan):Michael is one such guy of today,who believes that the youth should participate in finishing the corruption in the political scenario of the country.Ajay Devgan is shown as a yuva,a college student.Now,this is something hard to digest but this is the fact.However,he manages to give an excellent performance and though it is shocking for everyone to see Ajay as such a young guy but through his performance he will make you avoid this thing.Ajay Devgan,even this time does the same thing and again succeeds-acting through his eyes and his slow yet effective voice.Whatever he has done in this film,he is perfect.
2.Lallan(Abhishek Bachchan):Lallan is the worst influence on the youth. He is one such man who believes that being selfish is the only way to lead a good life. He thinks about himself, only. He is an extremist. If he hates someone, he hates him in the extreme form. He is not violent. He is extremely violent. Abhishek Bachchan was said to give the best performance of his lifetime and to an extent, this statement is true.
However, as I said about his last week`s release ?Run?, this time also, I must say that he should get better films to work in. Doing a film with someone like Mani Ratnam was not a bad idea at all and this time I won`t blame him. He has done his job with lots of sincerity. We have always seen Abhishek Bachchan as a decent and shy guy but this time he has done something different. He appears unshaved and looks dirty to make his character look realistic. Out of the 3 male characters in this film, his character is the one with whom you can relate, though it has some negative shades in it, because of Abhishek`s performance. I had great expectations from this film, that it will help the Jr.Bachchan, but sorry, it can`t though Abhishek Bachchan has done his job with utmost sincerity.
3.Arjun(Vivek Oberoi):Arjun is a character which is similar to the majority of youthful people-carefree and cool. He dreams of going to USA to do something big. He has big dreams, in life. Vivek Oberoi is the one who suffered the most for this film. The poor guy didn`t do any film for almost a year, because of an accident he had during this film. As Arjun, he does fairly well. He is a complete natural and the role suits him to the T. When you see Vivek as Arjun,you can`t imagine anyone else other than him.
4.Radhika(Esha Deol): Radhika is a childhood friend of Michael who loves him a lot and wants to live with him forever. Esha Deol has improved herself a lot.Infact,there were signs of improvement in her acting,when we saw her in ?LOC Kargil?, and though, this is again a brief role, she does a good job, showing us that she could have proved herself if she would have been given a lengthier role. Also,she has improved in her overall appearance.
5.Sashi(Rani Mukherji):Sashi is the violent Lallan`s,sweet wife who doesn`t take his anger so seriously and always tries to cool him down. She may be the only one who loves Lallan, in the whole world.Rani Mukherjee is the best in this film, amongst the actresses. She has been given a lot of scope to perform and does an excellent job. There is one scene where she gets angry with the male species and her outburst in that scene is clapworthy. Her face expressions and dialogue delivery are excellent. She also shares a great screen chemistry with Abhishek Bachchan.She looks more comfortable with him this time, than her last film with him ?Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai?.
6.Mira(Kareena Kapoor):Mira is the love interest of Arjun. She has the same attitude as Arjun, in life-she takes life easily and is also carefree. Kareena Kapoor makes you feel as if she has been unnecessarily been given a role in this film. Her character gets over-the-top and gets on your nerves. It can`t be matched with her most popular role of Poo in ?Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham?, nor it can be matched with her role of Chameli in ?Chameli?. This lady is displaying her talent these days, and it is better for her, not to waste her talent in such useless roles.
THE STORY:
?Yuva? is the story of three different youthful people.
First of all, it focuses on the life of Lallan,who is a local don. He can do anything to fulfill his desires. He can get extremely violent and fighting or kicking/punching is not at all, a big deal for him. In short, he is an ?angry young man?. He has a wife, Sashi, with whom he lives and spends a middle class life.
The second character is a decent gentleman, Michael, who believes that the youth of his country should get educated and should participate in changing the corrupt political scenario of India. He doesn`t believe in things like marriage, etc. He is in short, a very practical man who lives in the world of today and not in the world of past.
However, Arjun, the third character of this story, lives in the world of dreams. What`s his fault?Whatever he wanted in life, he got it.He has a girlfriend, Mira, he has energy,money and desires for going to USA. He is someone who thinks big and dreams big.
At some point, these three youthful people have to meet each other. The three of them are leading different lives. They have different thoughts. Now call it their luck or a co-incidence, that the three of them one fine day accidentally meet up on a bridge. Henceforth, many events follow up, which then lead to a conclusion, a climax.
CONTINUED IN COMMENTS SECTION...
