The one with the review - Yuva
Yuva: ***1/2
Just when I thought that I'll have to settle nicely for the weekend movie at home on TV, the mobile rang and I was there at the theater about half an hour later, having hastily devoured whatever dinner I could eat in 2 minutes. Then the ever hardball master of bargain, Himanshu, ate into the first 10 mins of movie. Well..what the heck, we saved 10 bucks, at least :-)
So, here is the my review. My hopes had drastically reduced after having heard mostly negative reviews of the movie. But as I never have too high a opinion about other peoples opinion, at least in this regard, this didn't effect me too much. The plot was nothing new. But neither was hackeneyed nor cliched. The movie revolves around creating the world of the three protagonists belonging different strata of the society. And it suceeds to varying degrees. The most fleshed out character is Abhishek Bachchans, Lallan Singh, the local goon. He is clear abt his goals of rising high and doesn't mind doing anything, even murder. This is probably Abhisheks best role so far and he comes off with flying colors too. I was finally heartened to see a brooding Amitabh back. This guy has the potential to reach higher credentials, inspite of constant comparisons with his legendary Dad.
Ajay Devgan is his usual self in his role of the student leader Michael Mukherjee. But I think Ajay has gone into a rut a bit. He seems the same in every film. The last film worth his talent was probably Deewangee. This role didn't demand too much to his talent. But he does justice to his role of an inspiring leader.
Vivek Oberai plays the usual cute boy next door role quite easily. Meat wise, his role is the least strong or noteworthy in the film. He almost plays second fiddle to Ajay.
Om puri lends a certain beleivability to the role of the oft repeated role a corrupt politician. His interludes with Ajay are interesting and curiously funny.
The performance of the ladies is also competent, Rani in particular gets a good role, as always.
The romance between the lead pairs varies from earthy to frothy to candy floss. Watch out for the frothy one between Ajay and Esha.
The story telling technique is quite novel in the Hindi film industry. It was interesting to see the three separate stories merge at a crucial point in the movie. The suspense is maintained thru a large portion of the film, most interestingly for Abhisheks character lallan singh. Songs are fast paced and well embedded in the story. Camerawork is excellent. Some of the night shots are absolutely brilliant.
On the flipsite, the movie won't appeal to people with a frothy tastes such as the recent Shahrukh ones or family entertainer stuffs. This clearly is a lightweight movie for a people interested in dissecting other people.
So, my verdict is definitely ***1/2 stars. I donn see this movie doing well in the northern packets but is a surefire hit down south if Madhavan enfuses as much energy and believability to Lallan Singh's role as Abhishek has. So watch it for lallan Singh and the obstacles in his way, a certain strong minded student leader and a suitably influenced boy.
Just when I thought that I'll have to settle nicely for the weekend movie at home on TV, the mobile rang and I was there at the theater about half an hour later, having hastily devoured whatever dinner I could eat in 2 minutes. Then the ever hardball master of bargain, Himanshu, ate into the first 10 mins of movie. Well..what the heck, we saved 10 bucks, at least :-)
So, here is the my review. My hopes had drastically reduced after having heard mostly negative reviews of the movie. But as I never have too high a opinion about other peoples opinion, at least in this regard, this didn't effect me too much. The plot was nothing new. But neither was hackeneyed nor cliched. The movie revolves around creating the world of the three protagonists belonging different strata of the society. And it suceeds to varying degrees. The most fleshed out character is Abhishek Bachchans, Lallan Singh, the local goon. He is clear abt his goals of rising high and doesn't mind doing anything, even murder. This is probably Abhisheks best role so far and he comes off with flying colors too. I was finally heartened to see a brooding Amitabh back. This guy has the potential to reach higher credentials, inspite of constant comparisons with his legendary Dad.
Ajay Devgan is his usual self in his role of the student leader Michael Mukherjee. But I think Ajay has gone into a rut a bit. He seems the same in every film. The last film worth his talent was probably Deewangee. This role didn't demand too much to his talent. But he does justice to his role of an inspiring leader.
Vivek Oberai plays the usual cute boy next door role quite easily. Meat wise, his role is the least strong or noteworthy in the film. He almost plays second fiddle to Ajay.
Om puri lends a certain beleivability to the role of the oft repeated role a corrupt politician. His interludes with Ajay are interesting and curiously funny.
The performance of the ladies is also competent, Rani in particular gets a good role, as always.
The romance between the lead pairs varies from earthy to frothy to candy floss. Watch out for the frothy one between Ajay and Esha.
The story telling technique is quite novel in the Hindi film industry. It was interesting to see the three separate stories merge at a crucial point in the movie. The suspense is maintained thru a large portion of the film, most interestingly for Abhisheks character lallan singh. Songs are fast paced and well embedded in the story. Camerawork is excellent. Some of the night shots are absolutely brilliant.
On the flipsite, the movie won't appeal to people with a frothy tastes such as the recent Shahrukh ones or family entertainer stuffs. This clearly is a lightweight movie for a people interested in dissecting other people.
So, my verdict is definitely ***1/2 stars. I donn see this movie doing well in the northern packets but is a surefire hit down south if Madhavan enfuses as much energy and believability to Lallan Singh's role as Abhishek has. So watch it for lallan Singh and the obstacles in his way, a certain strong minded student leader and a suitably influenced boy.
Comments
Good incentive to watch it again...