Three stories. One word: Awesome!
To see a master at work is always a pleasure. And to see a master adapt to new age filmmaking is pleasure doubled!
Everyone knows what Yuva is all about. What needs talking about is how successfully he has bridged the gap between Indian commercial cinema -- song-dance-happy endings -- and realism.
A strong social message couched by high entertainment has long been the hallmark of Mani Ratnam's oeuvre. He follows through in Yuva, too. It helps that none of the characters have the 'powder' and 'gloss' of the usual commercial fare in that they are as real as you and me.
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Thanks largely to writer Anurag Kashyap, we also get to witness what we never thought we would -- Mani Ratnam finally let go off his 'pseudo-real' dialogues so far seen in his films. What's refreshing to see is the humour interlaced so well with simple, to-the-point dialogues.
Superb camera work, replete with shaky, hand-held shots and a gritty look (Ravi K Chandran); slick, fast-paced editing (Sreekar Prasad); down-to-earth, realistic production design (Sabu Cyril); the unquestioned supremacy of A R Rahman (music); and the vision of Mani Ratnam make this movie one of the best in recent times.
The story has a social/political theme but politics is kept to a minumum. The filmmaker focuses on action and drama instead. Once again a welcome change long overdue in Indian movies. The romance between Arjun (Vivek Oberoi) and Meera (Kareena Kapoor) is the freshest in recent times. It hovers between titillating and hilarious. Abhishek Bachchan as Lallan finally delivers his best performance yet. Rani Mukerji's Sasi is so convincing that it will be hard to see her in any other role after this. It is very relieving to see a Hindi movie where, for once, the characters behave like normal people and don't get melodramatic at every chance. All in all, the performances were excellent, including the supporting roles.
Another aspect of Yuva is its structure. Textbook filmmaking says it is harakiri to set up characters for so long -- Ratnam is still telling the characters' back stories well past the interval. The chapter-like structure with intertwining stories is clearly inspired by Alejandro Gonsales Inarritu's Amores Perros, but the man with this new filmmaking style, has set the bar high for Indian filammkers.
Having said all that, here is a wish list for Yuva:
* One really wishes casting was better, and that Yuva didn't have actors who were at least a decade older than the characters in the movie, especially Ajay Devgan's Michael Mukherjee.
* The editing, though novel and edgy, could have done without falling prey to gimmickry at certain places.
* Did the actors really have to lip sync to the songs?
* One wishes the issues of the film -- the political crux -- weren't rushed through and dealt with in a mere song sequence.
Then again, that is asking for perfection, and Yuva is as good as it gets.
Raj & DK are filmmakers in the USA