The film has its plusses. AR Rahman has given a score he would be proud of.
Ghai, on his part, has done full justice to it. Together, the two have been
able to recreate the Taal magic, to a large extent. The casting couldn't have
been better.
Yuvvraaj is melodramatic and boring!
Aniruddha Guha
Friday, November 21, 2008 21:22 IST
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Yet Yuvvraaj is better than everything Ghai has done in the last decade
Yuvvraaj
Director: Subhash Ghai
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Zayed Khan and Mithun Chakraborthy
Rating: **
Subhash Ghai has hardly had a dream run lately. After Taal did just about okay
business in 1999, Ghai has delivered three flops in a row with Yaadein, Kisna
and this year's Black And White.
Clearly, the going hasn't been good for close to a decade. Surprising then that
every time the man has a film ready, expectations are high and curiosity levels
are up.
Yuvvraaj is no different. The film may be of interest to a film buff for a
number of reasons: AR Rahman's music has made quite an impact even before the
release; the film looks more lavish than Ghai's earlier works, which is saying
something; and lastly, Ghai has got an interesting bunch of actors together,
including the mercurial Salman, who was involved in the infamous slapping
incident with the filmmaker. Does Yuvvraaj meets up to these expectations
then?
The story is interesting. Deven Yuvvraaj (Salman Khan) is a man with a troubled
past. Struggling to make a career in music, Deven was thrown out by his
billionaire father twelve years back for beating up his dyslexic older brother
(Anil Kapoor). This has made Deven a bitter man and short-tempered (more like
crazy; why would he beat up a retarded brother otherwise?!)
The only silver lining in Deven's plethora of worries is Anushka (Katrina
Kaif), the lead cello player of the troupe Deven works as a chorus singer in.
She is the only one who 'understands' Deven and is able and willing to deal
with his temper and inner-demons. But Anushka's father (Boman Irani) is against
the match as he's aware of Deven's erratic lifestyle and anger management
problems.
When Deven learns of his father's demise, he decides to go back home to claim
his part of the family property, so that he can ask for Anushka's hand in
marriage. When he returns, Deven has to deal with distant relatives and two
brothers (Kapoor and Zayed Khan) in order to get his share of the booty. Except
that there's something coming in the way – Deven's father Yograj's will. And
the executor is Yodraj's attorney and friend, Sikandar Mirza (Mithun
Chakraborthy)
The film has its plusses. AR Rahman has given a score he would be proud of.
Ghai, on his part, has done full justice to it. Together, the two have been
able to recreate the Taal magic, to a large extent. The casting couldn't have
been better.
Salman, as the angry, sometimes psychotic, but large-hearted Deven, gets to
perform a role many would say comes close to his real-life persona. In fact,
initial scenes and references to Deven being 'misunderstood', unfit for
marriage, yet a good man, reminds one of the reams of newsprint devoted to
Salman's escapades and love affairs. Of course, watching him shed tears every
now and then is a sight many would be better off not witnessing.
Anil Kapoor is clearly the best performer – something which is expected of him.
As the dyslexic brother, Anil is able to tug at your heart with his mannerisms
and way of talking, at the same time providing a few light moments every now
and then. Zayed does not have much to do - again expectedly - and manages to
pass muster in whatever he gets to do.
Katrina, in one word, is angelic. Ghai has always been known to present his
heroines well and here he does it again with Katrina. As the sweet,
good-natured, vulnerable yet strong girlfriend of Deven, Katrina manages to
bring all those attributes to the fore.
The accent, of course, is there, but goes with the fact that the story's set
abroad. Mithun Chakraborthy gets a role that befits him to the T. If he wasn't
given so many English dialogues, which he has apparent difficulty in
pronouncing (he keeps saying weel instead of will), the impact would have been
greater.
Ghai has treated the film as a visual treat and manages to live up to his
Showman tag, visually at least. From the décor of the interiors to the lush
green, Ghai and his favourite DOP, Kabir Lal, have created magic.
If all the above mentioned things are enough for you to enjoy a film, then read
no further and give Yuvvraaj a shot. But Yuvvraaj's misdoing is its poor
script. The film is LONG. There are too many moments which fail to evoke
emotion or induce laughter where intended and that's purely due to writing that
is not engaging enough. The film is so melodramatic at times, that it puts you
off.
Although Ghai has clearly moved a step ahead in his depiction of a story,
visually, he's still stuck in typical stereotypes seen in numerous Ghai films
of the past – the scheming family, lusty bhabhi and loud characters.
Also, Ghai has resorted to cinematic liberty a little too much. For example,
Deven is shown to be a chorus singer, but in the last main performance of the
troupe, he suddenly steps on to the stage and starts singing.
Yuvvraaj is a laborious watch. If anything, it's definitely one of Ghai's
better works in the last decade, but that's not really saying much.
What a film like Yuvvraaj makes glaring, is the difference of approach among
different filmmakers. While audiences lapped up the bold, never-tried-before
'gay' romcom last week, Yuvvraaj serves the tried-and-tested formula this week.
In times of Dostana, Yuvvraaj's chances are bleak, frankly.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1208440
