YUVA

Ah the pains i go through for you folks. Had to drag myself to see yuva. Ah *sigh* First Day First Show.
Who am i kidding. I had a blast..
Read on for my review. I promise not to ruin the plot for you.
(Please skip the part marked with spolier alert, if you haven't seen the movie yet! don't blame me later)

Yuva starts with the premise of three young men. Three classes of society. And explores their lives and their problems. It does this to a certain extent. I wish it had done more.

Abhishek and Rani are both beautiful characters. I've always thought Aby baby couldn't act. But he does an awesome job. Rani is a perfect fit. You could watch the film for these two alone. Or you could watch it for Ajay and Esha . Granted Ajay's a little old to be playing a brilliant physics student. I think a teacher would have been better, maybe too many shades of mona lisa smile? But he's still good. And the chemistry between him and Esha is surprisingly great. Esha looks (i know ppl might disagree with me.. but my blog) like Hema Malini a LOT. And they talk about live in relationships and love in today's world. One of the few directors who's actually in touch with the youth today.


Which brings me to Vivek and Kareena. Vivek plays a *dude* who's *chill* (directors words) Which means he's a US bound cultureless casanova. As expected he turns new leaves (hell! he turns a whole new tree) halfway through. The only real cliches are Vivek and Kareena. While Vivek pulls off a great job of looking good and emoting, Kareena bugs me. But then again, she usually does. Seems like her role in the movie is to laugh. Like an airhead. She excels in her brief. There is an uncomfortable lack of chemistry between these two.

[ Spoiler alert ]

I love the first half of the movie. Typical mani ratnam. Small spaces, intricate stories that hint at a larger canvas. Beautiful, rich and tasteful. The second half, it becomes an above average hindi film. Not upto the standards of Madras Talkies. Tying up ends seems to be a problem. Ajay, Vivek reach cliched conclusions while Abhishek is granted no redemption. His initially deeper character is tarred as a *bad guy* in the latter part. Things were hinted on but not expanded upon. And it promised lots without delivering on all of them.

[ Spoiler done! ]

That said, it is still a more than above average film. It's a good entertainer, it makes you think (especially in today's politically charged scenario). Most of it is typical Mani and it's well worth watch.

Other great characters in the movie include the big bad politician (Om Puri) , the bengali neighobours of Abhishek and Rani and namma madras' Karthik Kumar who plays Vishnu, Ajay's friend and co conspirator. We've seen him grow from alaipayuthey to yuva. great job. And i'm not just saying that cos he's an alumnus of svce :)

To sum it up. Go watch the movie. It's not Nayakan. But it's better than Dil Se :)

By the looks of it, Ayitha Ezhuthu promises to outdo Yuva, Surya's definitely younger. More on Monday! Watch this space!