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Yuva

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Yuva
Image
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMani Ratnam
Written byMani Ratnam
Dialogues byAnurag Kashyap
Screenplay byMani Ratnam
Produced byMani Ratnam
G. Srinivasan
Starring
CinematographyRavi K. Chandran
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
company
Distributed byMadras Talkies
Release date
  • 21 May 2004 (2004-05-21)
Running time
162 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹12 crore[1]
Box office₹24.48 crore[1]

Yuva (transl. Youth) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language political crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, and Esha Deol. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Aayutha Ezhuthu but with a completely different cast, excluding Deol.[2] The film's rights are owned by Red Chillies Entertainment.[3]

At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Yuva won a leading six awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Supporting Actor (Bachchan), and Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji). Yuva was also a breakthrough for Bachchan as he won the Stardust Award for Actor of the Year – Male for his performance.

Plot

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The film opens in media res on Kolkata's Vidyasagar Setu, where mercenary enforcer Lallan Singh shoots student activist Michael "Mike" Mukherjee, causing him to crash his motorcycle into the Hooghly River. The assassination attempt is witnessed by a casual bystander, Arjun Balachandran. The narrative then shifts into a non-linear, three-part portmanteau structure, exploring the disparate backgrounds of the three men leading up to the confrontation.

Lallan is a volatile migrant from Bihar who settles in the slums of Kolkata after being abandoned by his elder brother, Gopal Singh. Facing absolute poverty, Lallan turns to violent crime. He marries Shashi Biswas, an idealistic local woman, but their relationship is severely fractured by his erratic behavior and rampant domestic abuse. Under Gopal’s recommendation, Lallan becomes a contract killer and political muscle for Prosenjit Bhattacharya, a powerful and corrupt politician.

Michael is a brilliant, fiercely independent student leader who actively organizes youth coalitions to dismantle systemic political interference in university elections, positioning himself as a direct threat to Prosenjit's regional control. Michael is also romantically involved with his neighbor, Radhika. Recognizing Michael's growing influence, Prosenjit attempts to neutralize him by orchestrating a fully funded scholarship to a prestigious foreign university. When Michael flatly rejects the bribe, Prosenjit orders Gopal and Lallan to break the student movement through violent intimidation. Although Lallan brutally assaults Michael's close associate Trilok, he faces fierce physical retaliation from Michael and an organized front of university students.

Arjun is the carefree, politically indifferent son of a senior IAS officer, whose sole ambition is to secure a visa and emigrate to the United States. He falls in love with Meera, a free-spirited woman. During a playful romantic dispute, Meera challenges Arjun's sincerity, prompting him to hitch a ride on Michael's motorcycle to pursue her taxi. As they cross the Vidyasagar Setu, Lallan intercepts them and guns Michael down. Urged by Meera, Arjun overcomes his initial panic and rescues the critically injured Michael from the river, rushing him to the hospital where he narrowly survives.

Following the incident, a transformed Arjun tracks Lallan to demand answers, but is severely beaten and left with a broken arm. During his convalescence, Arjun undergoes a profound ideological shift; he renounces his plans to emigrate, choosing instead to join Michael's grassroots political campaign alongside student leaders Vishnu and Trilok. Meanwhile, Prosenjit orders Gopal to eliminate Lallan for failing to neutralize Arjun as an eyewitness to the bridge shooting. Discovering the betrayal, an enraged Lallan executes Gopal. Prosenjit quickly manipulates the situation, promising Lallan protection if he kidnaps Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok to prevent them from filing their election nominations.

Shashi, desperate for Lallan's reform, gives him an ultimatum to meet her at a railway station to leave their criminal life behind; when he fails to appear, she abandons him permanently. Concurrently, Lallan's longtime associate, Dablu, undergoes a crisis of conscience regarding their violent lifestyle. Dablu attempts to help the captive students escape but is caught and executed by Lallan. Arjun manages to flee the compound and contacts Michael for assistance, but Lallan corners him back on the Vidyasagar Setu.

Michael arrives, sparking a brutal, final confrontation. Michael and Arjun ultimately overpower Lallan, but Michael spares his life, leaving him bound on the bridge to be arrested by arriving police forces. Lallan is imprisoned, while Michael, Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok sweep the independent student coalition seats, successfully entering the legislative assembly as reformist lawmakers.

Cast

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  • Ajay Devgn as Michael "Mike" Mukherjee, an activist who wants to encourage students to enter politics (Loosely based on George Reddy)
  • Abhishek Bachchan as Lallan Singh, a goon working as muscle for politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya
  • Vivek Oberoi as Arjun Balachandran, a wealthy young man who dreams of going to the United States
  • Rani Mukerji as Shashi Biswas Singh, Lallan's wife
  • Kareena Kapoor as Meera, a girl who is going to Kanpur and Arjun's love interest
  • Esha Deol as Professor Radhika, Michael's neighbor and also his love interest
  • Om Puri as Prosenjit Bhattacharya, a ruthless politician and Lallan's boss who wants to get the college students out of politics
  • Anant Nag as IAS Avinash Balachandran, Arjun's father
  • Vijay Raaz as Dablu, Lallan's friend who helps Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok escape
  • Sonu Sood as Gopal Singh, Lallan's brother, a goon who had left his brother alone and later gets killed by him
  • Saurabh Shukla as Dr. Gopal, Radhika's uncle
  • Karthik Kumar as Vishnu, Michael's close associate who acts as a right-hand man to him
  • Abhinav Kashyap as Trilok, Michael's close associate who once gets beaten up by Lallan Singh
  • Paras Arora as Arvind Balachandran, Arjun's younger brother
  • Tanusree Chakraborty as Arjun's classmate
  • Kharaj Mukherjee as Advocate Vishal Ghoshal
  • Brijendra Kala as Sheshadri, a newspaper editor
  • Sujata Sehgal as Joe Mukherjee, Michael's sister
  • Lekha Washington as the girl at the embassy
  • Simran (uncredited)

Production

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Hrithik Roshan was initially offered the role of Lallan Singh, but was replaced by Abhishek Bachchan.[4]

The film was shot at different locations, including Kolkata, Chennai, Bhopal, Theni, Pollachi and other areas of West Bengal. During the shoot in Chennai, ambassador cars were painted yellow to make them look like Kolkata taxis.[5]

Soundtrack

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Yuva
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released28 April 2004 (India)
RecordedPanchathan Record Inn
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelIshtar Music
ProducerA.R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Aayutha Ezhuthu
(2004)		 Yuva
(2004)		 Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa
(2004)

The soundtrack features six songs by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Mehboob. The rap and lyrics for the song "Dol Dol" were written by Blaaze.

All tracks are written by Mehboob.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Dhakka Dhakka"A. R. Rahman, Karthik, Mehboob04:56
2."Khuda Hafiz"Sunitha Sarathy, Lucky Ali, Karthik05:02
3."Kabhi Neem Neem"A. R. Rahman, Madhushree04:49
4."Dol Dol"Blaaze, Shahin Badar03:59
5."Baadal"Adnan Sami, Alka Yagnik05:25
6."Fanaa"A. R. Rahman, Sunitha Sarathy, Tanvi Shah04:41

Reception

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Critical reception

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The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with Bachchan and Mukerji's performances receiving particular praise.[6] A critic from The New York Times wrote that the film "has a sharp political edge that is rare in Hindi-language films, celebrated as they are for their wildly exuberant production numbers and sugary love stories".[7] It was reported that the movie had the narrative style of the 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros.[8][9]

Box office

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Yuva grossed ₹209.1 million (US$2.2 million) at the Indian box office.[1] It did well in multiplexes, but not in single-screen theatres. Compared to other parts of the country, it fared better in Mumbai. The Mumbai distributors recovered the cost of the film, but the sub-territory distributors in places like Surat and Baroda lost money. In places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and even South India, distributors lost around ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore. In states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the viewers couldn't relate to the film, hence leading to dismal business. Overseas, too, the film did average business.[10][11]

Accolades

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The film received several accolades, including a leading 6 Filmfare Awards, one IIFA Award, one Producers Guild Film Awards, four Screen Awards and two Stardust Awards.[12]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Yuva – Movie". Box Office India.
  2. ↑ "Esha Deol recalls talking to Mani Ratnam in Tamil on sets of Yuva: 'It left Ajay Devgn wondering what on earth was being said'". The Indian Express. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Yuva – Red Chillies Entertainment". www.redchillies.com. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  4. ↑ "16 Years Of 'Yuva': 9 Interesting Facts About One Of Mani Ratnam's Most Underrated Films!". Indiatimes. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Latest on Mani Ratnam's mov(i)e! - Sify.com". Sify. 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 2 September 2003.
  6. ↑ "Box Offfice Decade in Review: 2004 – Veer Zaara, Dhoom 1, Main Hoon Naa".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ Kehr, Dave (21 May 2004). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Yuva'". Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ↑ Kumar, S. Shiva (5 October 2018). "Mani is the matter: on Chekka Chivantha Vaanam". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 October 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ Jha, Subhash K. (16 November 2013). "Was 'Nayakan' inspired by 'The Godfather'?". DNA India. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "Yuva a loser?". Rediff. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Give Yuva a chance. Don't kill it!". Rediff. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Dhirad, Sandeep (2006). "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Filmfare. pp. 116–119. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
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