Review : Yuva

Yuva tells the tale of three young men, Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan), Arjun Balakrishnan (Vivek Oberoi) and Lallan (Abhishek Bachhan), and the story that ensues when their lives entangle in one dramatic well-shot scene. Michael is a brilliant student, who refuses opportunities to study abroad, in favor of cleaning up the corruption he sees around him. He and his friends face a conniving, two-faced adversary in the form of the corrupt neta Om Puri . Arjun is an upper-class youth, dreaming of studying in the USA, until he meets Michael. Lallan, is a thug, drawn to easy money, yet striving to walk the straight and narrow.

Each of these men have a love interest. Michael finds a soul-mate in Radhika (Esha Deol), who’s a language teacher, but ready to help Michael in his quest. Arjun meets Mira (Kareena Kapoor), the girl of his dreams, whom he is busy serenading, when he witnesses the life-changing incident on the Hooghly Bridge. Lallan marries Sashi, when she comes away with him, against her family’s wishes. Sashi loves him, and tries to reform his nefarious ways.

Ajay Devgan is miscast – he no longer fits the bill for a “young” student anymore, but turns in a good performance nevertheless. Vivek Oberoi gives a good performance as the happy-go-lucky Arjun. But the one to watch is Abhishek Bachchan, who turns in an impressive, smouldering performance, as the unpredictable and moody thug Lallan, who on one hand wants to reform for Sashi’s sake, but on the other, has a hard time suppressing the devil inside.

The women do reasonably, considering that their roles are small. Rani does a great job as Sashi, loving Lallan inspite of the flaws she sees in his character. Kareena is adequate as Mira, and Esha displays her minimal acting skills in the few scenes she has.

The film has been shot well, with Rathnam exploring a narrative structure which is quite unusual for Hindi movies. The story of each of the characters is told in episodic fashion, i.e.; first we are introduced to Lallan and Sashi and their life, then we see Michael on his mission, and then Arjun and his undecidedness. The rest of the movie is a depiction of the events that follow, when these lives, hitherto independent, entwine. The film is a classic good against evil tale, set in contemporary Kolkata, told imaginatively, and focussing on the youth as protagonists for a better future.