Complete disappointment. Review on Yuva - Bollywood

I was extremely disappointed by Mani Ratnam's latest offering. As I see it Yuva has two basic faults. Firstly, the casting is ALL WRONG. Secondly, it is difficult to tell whether the movie is based in an idealistic world or the present one we live in.

Some of the situations and the behavioral patterns of the characters make absolutely no sense. The basic premise is to show how a single incident can change the live's of people. That is pretty obvious. The question is what Mani Ratnam wants to say. Is it merely a documentation of the different aspects of youth? Is there a political or ideological agenda he has??? To tell you the truth nothing seems to be making sense in Yuva. To begin with the casting has been horrible. Abhishek Bachchan as the street-side ruffian leaves almost no impact.

Since Mani Ratnam is a director par excellence he's managed to shed Abishek´s inhibitions bnefore camera, but still his body language is too immature and refined to do justice to the character. He lacks the experience and talent to carry off the role. Ajay Devgan is completely miscast as the college-going revoltionary out to change the system. He is just about OK but lacks the zest or stamina of a campus kid. That he's in his 30's doesn´t help things either. How many times have we seen him play the angry-young-man???? The fact that he is a top clas actor saves him from falling flat on his feet.

Ideally Ajay should have played Abhishek's character, he has the brooding looks, the anger, and the experience to do a role and make it believable. Vivek Oberoi has done his part well, nothing special about it though. He would have looked much more convincing better as the college-going student union leader.

As for the ladies, Rani Mukherjee suited her role to the T. Esha Deol was miscast as Ajay's educated and wise girlfriend. How a 21 year old girl manages to play an MA graduate and French teacher beats me. Kareena and her should have swapped places. Kareena has played the hip, confident and stylish urban youth umpteen times. In my opinion the casting of the movie SUCKED. I don't know what was going through Mani RATNAM'S mind when he did the casting. Maybe he thought he had some magic wand and cast whoever he liked for whichever role and they'd be able to carry of the task. He is gravely mistaken.

It takes a very talented actor of the Amir Khan, Shah Rukh category to be able to pull off any role with aplomb. It is next to impossible with inexperienced youths like Abishek and Esha. As for the script as mentioned, one doesn't really understand the aim of the movie. Is it about idealism or reality???

Mixing both can be confusing. It is difficult to follow the characters thought processes. In the first story, the Rani stays with a man who goes in and out of jail, who obviously doesn't have the maturity or focus she requires in a man. Yet she always run back to him. She then aborts their child as a way to give teach him a lesson on how it feels to kill-one's own. She then wants them to move out of Calcutta and start anew with him. However, Abishek refuses to mend her ways and stays behind to settle scores while Rani goes away with train tired and frustrated in the end-leaving him behind.

Why in God's name couldn't she do it in the beginning? The second couple is Esha and Ajay. He is a free-thinker giving two hoots to societal conventions much to his mom's disappointment. I find it highly amusing how a stable and educated girl like Esha runs out of her home and moves into Ajay's just like that!!!! It's like on one hand she is a mature and sensible person, on the other she is rebellious and free-spirited. And when did it become normal in a middle-class Indian household that girls can move in and out of their male friends homes without fuss????? Beats me. Vivek and Kareena are the carefree, hip and urban couple.

Yet, I find it highly amusing how Kareena can speak of her possible marriage to some Kanpuriya she has neither seen nor met in real life! And she's telling Vivek about it at a hip club, while shaking her shapely booty! God help us! How a girl who oozes such confidence and zest can let that happen to her. Weirder is Vivek's character who takes life as it comes. One day he wants to fly to America, next day he wants to join the student union with Ajay. How that drastic transition can take place is amusing. Ok he is impulsive but this is inexplainable.

Stranger still is how Kareena comes back to him, after calling off her marriage to the by-now infamous Kanpuriya. All of a sudden, out of the blue. As it is, the characters, their actions and the flow of the story makes no sense. Yes, it is possible that you may never know where you are going to end up tomorrow but to have these one-dimensional uncomplicated characters who change colors like a chameleon? It is difficult to identify or feel for any of them.

At least it was difficult for me to fathom this movie. I found myself to be a bit of every body and it would have been better if it was one story about a single person going through all these different phases in his life. It would be more indepth and focused. Besides I found some of the events in the movie to be so far from reality (like Ajay's party winning elections so swiftly...is that possible????), with the the abrupt and impulsive actions of the characters.

In the end you neither get touched by the realism or intrigued by the idealism. On the whole it is a complete disappointment. This movie is nothing compared to Mani Ratnam's earlier works. What works in its favour is the brilliant cinematography, the songs which are all situational and add to the storyline besides the way they have been shot is new and innovative.

A concept of three stories being inter-linked by one incident is unique and experimental but it needs to be backed by strong characterisations and a good script. Which this movie lacks.