Yuva


Yuva is an Indian political thriller film directed by Mani Ratnam and released in 2004. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Aaytha Ezhuthu and in Hindi, and is based on the storyline of students entering politics.
The film tells the stories of three young men from completely different strata of society and how one fateful incident on Kolkata's Howrah Bridge changes their lives forever. The narrative of the story is partially in hyperlink format.

Background

The film is set in Kolkata. Michael, Arjun, Vishnu and Trilok are leaders of a student organisation who want to remove the corruption involved in politics. However, their lives take an unexpected turn when Lallan Singh, a goon working for ruthless politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya, tries to eliminate them.

Plot

Lallan Singh is a, originally from Bihar but settled in Kolkata, West Bengal because his brother Gopal Singh has left him alone and he had no option of earning back home. He loves, marries and abuses his wife, Shashi Biswas.
Michael Mukherjee is an influential student leader who wants politicians like Prosenjit Bhattacharya to keep away from college elections. His closest associates are his best friends Vishnu and Trilok. Among the two, Vishnu acts as a partner to Michael. Michael, in his personal life, is in love with his neighbour Radhika who lives with her uncle and aunt.
Arjun Balachandran is the carefree and spoiled son of an IAS officer. He wants to relocate to the U.S. for a better future. He falls in love with Meera, whom he just met. Arjun asks Meera for coffee and takes her to the beach and realizes that Meera loves him back. One day, Arjun and Meera get into a quarrel on the road and Mira gets into a taxi. Arjun gets lift from Michael to catch up with Meera, who is going that way. Suddenly, Michael is hit by a bullet, and he is saved by Arjun. After talking to Michael, Arjun changes his mind and wants to be a politician.
Prosenjit is worried when he hears news of students standing in the election. He uses every possible way to get them out of politics. First he provides scholarship of a prestigious foreign university to Michael. When Michael refuses the bribe, he orders his goon Gopal to take control. Gopal orders Lallan to beat up Trilok, which he does; but faces very strong retaliation from Michael and his fellow students. After that Lallan Singh takes charge and kills Gopal. He kidnaps Arjun, Vishnu and Trilok. However, they escape with the help of Lallan Singh's ally Dablu.
Lallan follows Arjun and beats him up. While running, Arjun calls Michael for help. He comes to rescue Arjun at Vidyasagar Setu. A fight ensues between the three men but Lallan overpowers Arjun but is defeated by Michael who chooses to spare him and leave him for the police. Lallan is handed to the police. Michael, Arjun, Vishnu and Trilok win the four seats they had contested for and thus enter into politics. Shashi leaves for her hometown while Lallan remains in prison.

Cast

was initially announced to play a supporting role, but was replaced by Abhishek Bachchan.
Uday Chopra expressed his desire to play the lead role but his weak acting and insufficient experience did not convince the producers to cast him.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features six songs by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Mehboob. The rap and lyrics for the song Dol Dol were by Blaaze.
SongArtistDuration
"Kabhi Neem Neem"Madhushree, A. R. Rahman04:49
"Dol Dol"Blaaze, Shahin Badar 03:59
"Dhakka Laga Bukka"A. R. Rahman, Karthik, Mehboob04:56
"Baadal"Adnan Sami, Alka Yagnik05:25
"Fanaa"A. R. Rahman, Sunitha Sarathy, Tanvi04:41
"Khuda Hafiz"Sunitha Sarathy, Lucky Ali, Karthik05:02
"Anjaana Anjaani"
Sunitha Sarathy, Karthik01:04

Reception

Critical reception

was praised by the critics for hints of a rustic 'angry young man' type performance in the film. It was reported that the movie had the narrative style of the 2000 Mexican movie Amores Perros.

Box office

Yuva grossed at Indian box office. Yuva did well in multiplexes. But it did not do well in single screen theatres.
Compared to other parts of the country, it fared better in Mumbai. The Mumbai distributor recovered the cost of the film, but the sub-territory distributors in places like Surat and Gujarat lost money. In places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, even the south India, distributors lost around 50 lakh to 1 crore. In states like MP and Chattisgarh, the viewers couldn’t relate to the movie hence leading to dismal business. Overseas, too, the film did below average business.

Awards

2004 Filmfare Awards