Mani needs to use an Interpreter!!. Review on Yuva - Bollywood

May 21, 2004. Yuva Day. My eyes were glued to the TV Screen as NDTV announced the premiere of ManiRathnam’s latest offering, all the way from Singapore. Abhishek Bacchan’s face had a Unique Glow, since it was his performance that was talked about the most and hyped up by the media. India waited eagerly to watch what Yuva was all about.

May 22, 2004.. First few reviews pour in from various sources like https://indiafm.com, https://rediff.com and our own MS. Shocks and surprises galore for the readers, as Taran Adarsh tore apart the movie to Shreds and Prem Panicker described it as a Big Disappointment. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and for a few moments my Brains failed to register any inputs as I tried to interpret what the reviewers wanted to express.

May 23, 2004. Sunday. Time to unwind. Yuva crossed my mind again. Logged onto MS yet again!! Not too many reviews, but all talked pessimistically about the film. While some said they did not understand what was happening thru’ out the film, some said it had no story and was a poor and amateurish effort at portraying college politics. The tamil version, Ayitha Ezuthu fared much better with the reviewers showering far more Bouquets than the Giant-Size Brickbats Pelted by Yuva’s Reviewers.

Finally, I gave up to temptation and booked tickets for Yuva. Surprisingly, while everyone said the movie was a Disaster, I couldn’t get tickets for the evening show at ANY theatre in Mumbai. Finally, I settled for Pinky, located at Andheri.

Reaching Pinky an hour before the show, I saw the crowd burgeoning beyond capacity as Black-Marketeers made their way thru the people, with the people following them for bargains! Just then, my pals arrived and we settled in to watch Mani’s most Controversial effort.

And what did I feel at the end of it? Well, clearly, as most of you have described it, it’s a DISAPPOINTMENT. But let me clarify, its Disappointing by Mani’s Standard. Start comparing it to Bollywood run-of-the-mills, and it Towers above the rest like WTC towered above everything in New York.

Yuva will not hit BULLSEYE at the Box-Office due to the fact that it is neither as entertaining as Kal Ho Naa Ho, nor as Hard-Hitting as Ab Tak 56. It falls somewhere in between, leaving both the Masses and Classes dissatisfied. Let us look into the Major Complaint or Sore Point that all have Mentioned.

Story and Screenplay is Poor and Confounds the Audience

Wat I feel : Yuva’s screenplay is Completely Different from the regular Screenplays which move in one track and don’t repeatedly jump back and forth in time. Yes, we do have flashbacks but they tell the story of an individual. Here we have one incident, which Unfolds the whole Plot by Introducing the Protagonists and branching independently to Establish who they are and what brings them Together in one scene.

Although some say its inspired by Amores Perros or Rashomon, it’s a Bold Experiment, and an Achievement all the same, that ManiRathnam can be proud of. It’s a different question altogether whether people concentrate on the happenings or just wonder blankly when they see the same scene repeated each time the story revolves back to the present.

Where the screenplay and story go for a TOSS is in the last 45 minutes, when we come out of the so-called LOOP. Looks like Mani spent so much time and effort into looping these 3 stories together that he completely forgot where the Story would be headed after that scene and scribbled something in a hurry, not realizing that it would spell doom and Wash Away his efforts to present the Audience a Unique and Novel way of Storytelling. The scenes after the Accident at Howrah Bridge are DEVOID of any impact and put off the viewer, who waits with bated breath for some surprises. Instead the story degenerates into usual Dishoom-Dishoom and Politician Bashing that we’ve seen in Umpteen number of movies before this. The whole issue about students joining politics is tackled in a Half-Baked Manner, which is the Biggest Shortcoming of the Story.

Also, Abhishek’s character is not developed as well as say the other two, hence his violent outbursts leave the viewer frustrated and confounded, wondering whether was restricted to doing just that or something else too! In contrast to that, Vivek’s character shapes up pretty well thanks to the past experience that Mani has in developing such happy-go-lucky kind of roles….Saathiya for example. Ajay Devgan’s character too requires some more bolstering and lacks the realistic feel that should have been imparted. Instead he is shown running around villages, bashing up people and happily getting suspended from college. And Kareena’s reason for returning to Vivek at the end is Simply Stupid! Not digestable!!

Now, coming to the Pros, there are a Lot to Mention, but they can’t help in saving Yuva from Sinking. Yuva is Technically SOUND. Not that we expect anything less from a Captain of Mani’s caliber.

Ravi K. Chandran’s Cinematography is AMAZING. He has projected each of the characters in different hues and shades; even the colors take priority for each protagonist, which is a First in Indian Cinema. It was seen first in Traffic, but that was a little overdone, according to me. One grouse though will be the lighting effects used in the song “Fanaa”. There’s simply too much light in the NightClub and looks odd, especially when compared to Dil Chahta Hai’s “Koi Kahe”.

The Make up Guy has done a Lot of hardwork on the Ladies and it shows as they all LOOK FABULOUS! I was literally taken aback after seeing Esha Deol! She, Rani and Kareena looked Drop Dead Gorgeous…and Manish Malhotra’s attire only made things better and better!!

Sreekar Prasad’s editing is Razor Sharp, but as I said, during the last 45 minutes you really wish he had used his scissors much more often, trimming the un-necessary scenes to a minimum.

Music by A.R.Rahman is TOO GOOD! And Mani sure knows how to place the songs in the Screenplay so they don’t act as a Hindrance. “Kabhi Neem”, “Dhakka Lagaa” and “Anjaana” are Superb Tracks. Same goes for the Background Music which though well done does not heighten the impact in the last 1 hour, since the scenes themselves don’t have much DUM!

Mani’s Direction is as always Very Good but he is Severely Handicapped by the Story that flies into tangents after the accident. The violent and prolonged climax was uncalled for and sticks out like a sore thumb.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS!