No! Never! There’s always something to add - a new layer to explore - a different perpsective to analyse - a deeper meaning to understand. And that precisely, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why Mani Ratnam made a movie on a subject as weather beaten as ’’student politics’’ - T’is also a reason why I write this piece - to share with you my two penny’s worth on Yuva.
Lets dispense with the essentials first:
’’The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’’
Michael Mukherjee: Brilliant student, Profound thinker, Born leader, Innate idealist, Change agent, Knows what he wants and better still knows how to get it, Believes that ends justify means - represents the Indian middle class with all its ’’honest’’ intentions.
’’Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved’’
Lallan: Raw-edged thug, Temperamental Brute, Firmly believes that a few blows are better substitues for words, Dreams big and will stop at nothing to achieve it, Lives by the sword and is confident will not fall victim to it. Represents the exploited and struggling lower strata of society.
’’I am what I am and I do not want to be anything else’’
Arjun Balakrishnan: Happy-go-lucky student, Blithe and fun loving, charming and popular, committment shy, self-centred, lives in his own world - a world full of dreams of making it big in foreign shores. Represents the ’’haves’’ of
the society who does not care for the ’’have nots’’ and would not mind staying that way.
Yuva is the story of the lives of these three men - their destinies inter-linked - their fate twisted on that fateful day at the Howrah bridge.
Maniratnam’s journey in films started in Kannada with Pallavi Anu Pallavi, a film that explored the relationship between an older woman and a young man. From there till today, he has dabbled in subjects as diverse and off beat as Terrorism, Communal violence, marital discord, mafia and gang wars, child adoption and social acceptance of ’’special’’ children. His technique and craftsmanship have been instrumental in influencing almost all of todays’s hot shot South Indian directors. Hard nosed critics who criticise him for his obsession with style forget that at the heart of all his classics is an intense human drama involving wonderfuly etched, multi dimensional characters.
So how do the characters shape up in Yuva vis a vis Mani’s earlier ventures? Disappointing would sum up my feelings - barring Lallan, Yuva’s biggest weakness is the total lack of depth in its principal players. Micheal around whom Mani claims the entire story was woven around is amazingly under developed. There are no strong incidents to show that his ideals are achievable and there is no reasoning behind his attitude to life other than a vague reference to his genes, his father being an anti-establishment man too.
Michael’s love interest Radhika is as run of the mill as a character gets and contributes zilch to the narrative. Agreed that Arjun is a typical youth caught in the conflict of wanting to pursue his own ambitions and matching up to his father’s aspirations - but that still does not justify the sudden change in his stance to help Michael out in his noble crusade. The characterisation reeks of shallowness and his love interest Meera is just a nice mannequin - beautiful to look but nothing beyond that. Its only in the shaping of Lallan and his wife Sasi that Mani deserves full marks. In Sasi, Mani has created (IMHO) one of his best characters to date - here is a woman who knows that her man is on a self destruction spree but still sees something in him and hopes to turn him around.
The crooked politician is a little different - his is an ironic story of baptism into the dirty mean world - His nephew is a stereotyped character whilst other cameos by Arjun’s brother and Lallan’s sidekick are praiseworthy.
Maniratnam in charge of screenplay and direction is clearly not masterful but is adequately adept - though the subject is old, the approach is refreshingly honest. The narrative style, heavily inspired by Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros, is a novelty to Indian audiences and is sure to catch the audience’s fancy. The last few scenes marking the political entry of the youth brigade are truly inspiring (not at all cliches and pseudo) and leave behind a lasting impression on our minds. The Maniratnam touches are all too evident in quite a few sequences, my favorites being
Radhika’s introduction scene at the Railway station
Another master stroke by Maniratnam is his casting Abhishek Bachchan as Lallan totally against type. I had my apprehensions but after seeing Yuva I stand corrected. It must have been really tough for the cultured, suave AB(jr) to morph himself into this crude, rugged role but to his credit AB(Jr) comes out trumps. Without any doubt he is the movie’s biggest strength. He is electric in all his scenes and particular mention must be made of
His confrontation with his brother in the boat
- His anger and fury on hearing of his child’s fate
Ajay Devgan is miscast as the P.Hd student Michael - he does not look the age and he has really taken his ’’brooding look’’ act a little too far. However he does what is expected of him in the meotional moments and is fair in the lighter scenes as well
His bike conversation with Radhika about chromosomes and procreation
- His showdown with the minister upon hearing the news of his scholarship
Vivek Oberoi is very assured as the smooth and cool Arjun. His enthusiasm is infectious and he is wonderful in some of the lighter moments especially the exchanges at Cafe Coffee Day ion his first date, the tram ride scene and the arguments with his brother.
Of the female leads, Rani Mukherjee as Sasi is brilliant and is a joy to watch be it remonstrating with her husband of the futility of his ways or her outburst against all men during her flight. Kareena Kapoor as Meera (with minimal
makeup) is simply put - gorgeous, stunning , lovely, striking.. for more adjectives refer Thesaurus.. She is an integral part of the movie’s lighter parts and does a decent job. Esha Deol, well, has a lousy role and strives hard to make her mark - she looks good though its no wonder since Mani can make even an a s s look sexy (Pun intended). Vijay Raaz as Lallan’s crony and Om Puri as the crooked politician are a pleasure to watch.
Music by AR Rahman is a great hit already though the BGM is jerky. However Maniratnam has intelligently used the songs in the movie using them more to move the narrative than to act as fillers. Brinda’s choreography for Fanaa is stunning. Art by Sabu Cyril deserves a National award - few would be able to tell that Lallan’s house and the surroundings are sets. If the movie looks as good as it does on screen its thanks to Sabu and yes, to the cinematographer Ravi K Chandran. The camera angles, the lighting and the filters are eye catching - Each song is a delightful painting translated from canvas to screen. Edi