Yuva,Mani Ratnam's latest offering, is a bilingual movie with a sociopolitical theme. Lallan, Michael and Arjun are three men who meet on the Howrah bridge and whose lives are never the same again. The film has got an interesting narrative structure - it opens with this plot point and then rewinds to take a look at the lives of the protagonists upto this point. In typical Mani style the narrative comes back to the plot point from three different angles/perspectives and sets the movie up. Mani has tried this with some success in Alaipayuthe, albeit with just the leading pair.
Here the difficulty is in managing three narratives in a relatively short span of time so as to keep alive the viewer interest. The problem is that having to live with the Indian convention of having an intermission, only two of the three stories are over by the interval. It could have been avoided if Mani had been evenhanded with the three characters. But he dwells on the life of Lallan (Abhishek) and his love-lust-hate relationship with Sasi (Rani). Though he manages to pack in a lot through songs, this portion is fairly lengthy and gives one the impression that Lallan is the main character. The plus is that it establishes Lallan's identity (migrant Bihari/East UP youth turning to dadagiri/politics for survival) and creates a sense of expectation about the character.
Michael's (Ajay) story is disposed off quickly and his romance with Radhika (Esha) is given a very cursory treatment. This is alright but Ajay is clearly miscast as a student leader - he is too old - and we are asked to believe without any evidence that he is a leader who commands a large following in his college. Contrast this with "Shiva" where Nagarjuna's evolution from outsider to leader is very skillfully etched. Even in "Mouna Raagam", where we don't know much about Karthik's antecedents, we are persuaded by his dynamism and situations that he is a political activist prone to violent ways. Here there is a complete lack of identification with Micahel. Is he an idealist due to his genes (there is some reference to his father as an activist) or is it because of some event in his life?
The cutest segment of the movie involves Arjun(Vivek) and Meera (Kareena). Here Mani is in his elements when he narrates their romance. As one who has religiously followed his movies, a refreshing wave of nostalgia swept over me when watching this portion. These characters may not be realistic but they pack in a lot of aspiration value (as far as romance goes) for a lot of guys. Its like if I were to have a fling at one last romance this is how I would like to go about it. Bittersweet is the word. Anyway, Arjun and Meera stumble on each other and fall in love and before they could come to a decision, their lives intersect with that of Lallan and Michael. Note that Meera is the only female character who is part of this meeting but there seems to be no significance to this later on.
Upto here the movie works and there is an air of expectancy about Lallan's life and Arjun-Meera romance. From here the movie takes several false steps and stumbles. A quick list of the jarring notes.
1.The two plot points in the second half lack conviction - Lallan and Arjun take crucial decisions without bating an eyelid, decisions which change their world upside down. 2.Rani's character is left hanging after she leaves Lallan.
3. Michael and Arjun are apparently contesting bye-elections to Assembly. Apart from filing nomination papers and going around villages in a group of 50-100 and doing public works to a background song, there is no evidence of campaigning. This looks more like logging in social service credits in college rather than serious electioneering.
4. Two (or three?) of the candidates are kidnapped prior to the election but what is the impact on elections? We don't know. Though the Yuva end up winning we have no clue as to whether it is due to a genuine silent revolution or coming together of circumstances.
5. Did Lallan receive justice from the courts? We don't know but his character did not receive the right treatment from the director at the end. It is criminal to dispose off a character who is at the centre of the plot.
In the end, there is a masterful scene of the Yuva dressed in jeans and with a devil may care attitude entering the West Bengal Assembly where sores of geriatrics in dhoti-kurta shuffle around. It is incongruous, fascinating and as they say pregnant with possibilities. A bit like Mani and commercial movies - here is a man who uses a crass, commercial medium to post messages and to create works of art. My favourites Mouna Ragam, Bombay, Iruvar and Kannathil Muthamittal all testify to Mani's success in managing this contradiction. It is no surprise that his idealistic Yuva want to use politics as an instrument for social change rather than take up arms. Pity that Mani runs out of steam in handling this fantastic idea. Too patient at the beginning, too peremptory in the second half. Maybe two movies would have made sense (a la Kill Bill). Or he could have created a pre-existing link between two of his characters to efficiently use the intro-narrative. This whole triple-flashback-flash forward narrative structure employed is brilliant and works to deadly effect (even with imbalance in time spent on each story) till the point where the narratives converge again. But then the subsequent developments fall flat and drag down the movie.
Coming to individual performances, Abhishek rocks as a migrant Bihari (or Eastern Upite?) in Kolkata. His brooding presence and rough and ready ways suit the role to a T. Junior has well and truly arrived. Rani is competent as usual and remains the only genuine threat to Preity in the race. Ajay is miscast but soldiers on gamely. Esha Deol impresses in the tiny role that she plays. Enough flashes of subtlety to prove that she can act. Vivek Oberoi is back with a bang. Reprising his Saathiya character he is in his elements as a self-centred, happy-go-lucky bachelor with a sense of humour. Kareena is surprisingly effective as a somewhat lost-in-her-own-world, young girl struggling between her instincts and her reason. With minimal make up, she looks stunning and has turned in her first significant performance since Refugee. Om Puri is competent as usual. Vijay Raaz has got a decent role and Anant Nag puts in a cameo. Technically the movie is all you would expect of a Mani film. Ravi Chandran stamps his imprint in the Khuda Hafiz song. Shreekar Prasad is in top form with the innovative narrative structure. AR Rahman's music is used in the best possible way as bgm.
At the end, the overwhelming feeling is of underachievement - of lacking the killer punch. This time Mani had a real good subject. But the treatment could have been better. That's what rankles considering he is a master storyteller. I will still recommend Yuva for to reasons - the shrewd narrative structure and the bittersweet Arjun-Meera romantic interlude in the middle of the movie.
