Rapid Reviews - YJHD

I am on my way to Roha. Just boarded the Diva-Roha train 9:40. Just caught it in time rather because 9:40 is when I reached the railway station at Pen. At Pen I was visiting a friend. It’s the 31^st. Last day of the month of May. May is the month that represents the summer vacations and today’s day represents end of vacations.  Yet it feels like the summer is still beginning. It’s been a long holiday. Lots of work and Lots of play, Jack hasn’t yet had a dull day.

More importantly, this vacations have been full of Movies. Movies and IPL. But mainly movies. Chashme Buddoor, Nautanki Saala, Iron Man 3, Ek Thi Daayan, Prem Mhanje Prem, Aashiqui 2, Shootout at Wadala, Go Goa Gone, Aurangzeb, Bombay Talkies and Fast & Furious6. Name it and I’ve watched it.

But today was the last day of movies too. Not a single movie more, not in this summer anyway. I have closed this wonderful string of movies with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. I caught the 6:30 show and then rushed to catch the 9:40 train. And it was all worth it.

I watched it in the same cinema house where I had watched Wake Up Sid. That was the first movie I watched without adult company. The friend I watched it with, was there for this movie too. I had loved Wake Up Sid and I was expecting a lot from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. No, director Ayan Mukherjee hasn’t failed to deliver this time either. But then again, YJHD is not WUS.

YJHD has a weak story. The content is rather good though, so the story isn’t missed much. Naina(Deepika Padukone) reminisces about the time when she had arrived spontaneously on a trek to Manali. The trek, befriending Aditi (Kalki) and Avi (Roy Kapoor) and falling for Bunny (Ranbir) has been a turning point in her life. But it’s eight years since and the friends are quite apart now. The nimitta becomes a wedding and the story begins…. After the interval. Which is fine, because the first half does an excellent job of setting the story.

Ayan Mukerjee had made a simple film with Wake Up Sid. This one is quite a huge jump for him. But the exotic locations and the angle long shots haven’t made him lose the simplicity. There is a certain earthiness in his story telling and we can see his traces on every scene. WUS established Mukherjee as somebody to watch out for. But after YJHD, he is going to be someone who will be chased by producers. YJHD may not be remembered as a cult, but it shows us what our commercial cinema stands for. This summer, movies like Chashme Buddoor and Hum Hai Rahi Car Ke had us worried if this is what becoming of our cinema, but YJHD relieves us of that worry. YJHD is not about Love, nor is it about Friendship. It is about dreams. It is about four dreams, a fulfilled one, a broken one, a rested one and a dream that is let go. YJHD is a beautiful collection.

Ranbir Kapoor doesn’t seem like someone who was a backbench loafer during his school days. He must have been a sensible kid, really. Deepika Padukone certainly wasn’t a nerd who sat in a corner by herself. Yet, not a minute do their characters feel insincere. Both of them prove their stardom. If people go to the theatres expecting a Barfi performance(which they shouldn’t), they still won’t be disappointed. Deepika Padukone gives her Party Girl act a rest. Kalki does what she hasn’t done before, and yet does it beautifully. However, Aditya Roy Kapoor who was on the industry watchlist, falls short. He doesn’t have much scope and his Avi feels like an Aashiqui déjà vu. Somebody who stands out is Kunal Roy Kapoor in a guest role. He continues his goof act from Nautanki Saala and is just as lovable. Combined with his French beard, we are reminded of Amol Palekar and rightly so. Farooq Sheikh, Tanvi Azmi and Dolly Alluwalia appear in two-scene cameos and remind us why we love them. An appearance by Rana Daggubatti too leaves us surprised. Evelyn plays the blonde brunette and has a memorable role.

The music has topped the charts for weeks. Diverse from his previous flick, where the music was really soulful, Mukherjee has picked catchy numbers which is an excellent decision. The music is really young, apt to the title. YJHD had already found a huge fanbase, weeks before its release because of the music. I’ll bet on the fact, that a YJHD song is playing on at least one music channel at any given time. Be it “Dilliwaali Girlfriend” “Balam Pichkari” “Kabira” “Battameez Dil” or “Ghagra” there is no space for other songs on charts because these songs have occupied all the primary positions.

Speaking of Ghagra, everybody who said that Madhuri Dixit has grown old should see the song in a cinema hall. There is no competition for Madhuri when she flaunts about in the Gold and Red Ghagras. The item number isn’t raunchy, instead it is sweet right upto the last point where Ranbir Kapoor plants a kiss on Mad’s cheeks, leaving the audience (at least me) totally jealous of Ranbir Kapoor. The colour red seems to have a wonderful effect in the movie (the title and credits appear in red) with Deepika Padukone looking not a bit less then sexy in Dilliwaali and Kalki looking great too. Red also seems to be the right colour for Deepika (Remember Cocktail’s red bikini?).

There are quite a few memorable moments in the movie like when Ranbir convinces Deepika to board the moving train, a scared Deepika on the berth, and the big fat Punjabi wedding. Avi and Adi’s story helps in making the movie stronger, it is far more sensible the lead couple’s. The main love story is a bit clichéd, and reminds us of various movies, starting right from DDLJ to Hum Tum. In 2 hours and 42 minutes, the movie feels a bit stretched with not quite a convincible climax, however the last scene of the movie makes it to the list of memorable moments.

All in all, YJHD is a good film, well made and well sold. But then again don’t expect a Dil Chahta Hai or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

Rating:                       ½ (Three and a Half)