Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani starring Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kalki Koechlin and directed by Ayan Mukerji focuses on a group of young people and talks about friendship and love even if the tone is more traditional.
Naina (Deepika Padukone) is a serious and disciplined medical student who is closely monitored by her parents. Invested in her studies, she ultimately forgets to live her youth to the fullest. She doesn't really think about having fun until she accidentally meets an outgoing, rebellious and liberated old school friend, Aditi (Kalki Koechlin).
When Aditi tells her about her plans for a holiday with friends, Naina realizes that she dreams of a more eventful life and decides to sign up for the same trek in Manali as her classmate, without telling anyone. Aditi is surprised to see her drop off at the train station but welcomes her into her group comprising her best friends, the charming and lively Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) and the womanizing Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur). A journey that will change their lives, all of them.
During the stay, Naina, initially embarrassed and shy, gets closer to Bunny who attracts her for his joy of life and his lack of respect for conventions. Bunny, the eternal dreamer, passionate about photography, takes her under his wing. The two become real accomplices and, through contact with the three friends, the young girl learns to party. Shortly before the end of the vacation, Avi discovers that Bunny has planned to leave India to pursue his professional dreams, leaving his friends and Naina heartbroken by his departure.
Gradually, bonds are created between the two young people but these remain pending, unfinished, with Bunny's departure abroad. Naina and Bunny have different aspirations and a conception of the future and adult life that diverge. The group of friends meet again a few years later in their thirties for Aditi's wedding.
It's a classic romantic comedy.
The film has enjoyed impressive box office success and it is understandable! Featuring a dynamic and rhythmic soundtrack that stays in your memory, choreography that makes you want to dance, talented actors and an interesting story that speaks to the youth, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is a successful comedy. The film lightly addresses the theme dear to its director Ayan Mukherji, the coming of age, the pursuit of one's dreams and aspirations.
The plot is built around a group of very endearing friends to whom we quickly become familiar and close as they are so human. The writing of the characters is definitely the strong point of the scenario, which oscillates between romance and comedy. The characters, both main and secondary, have real consistency and different personalities.
The role of Naina, this introverted young girl who wants to open up to others, seems tailor-made for Deepika Padukone as her acting is natural both as a reserved young girl and as a fulfilled young woman. She is the embodiment of a youth torn between the awareness of a future to prepare and the desire to live her youth carefree.
Bunny is an interesting character played by Ranbir Kapoor who is comfortable in this role of a funny and sympathetic big friend, dreamer and thirsty for discoveries and adventures. He represents a youth who bites life to the fullest, who takes risks without fear of launching into the unknown.
Aditi is a sassy, outgoing girl who cares little about what others think but secretly harbors feelings for her friend Avi. She calms down with time without losing her enthusiasm and madness, just as her attachment and affection for her friends is strong. Kalki Koelchin manages to give depth and consistency to her character by playing with great accuracy.
As for the character of Avi, he is less highlighted. But he seems to represent the frustration in the face of the incessant race he is engaged in: chasing girls, success, without any real vision, dream or project, hence his failure to build something lasting. It is a lost youth embodied by the character played by Aditya Roy Kapoor , who refuses to accept that the party and carefree life are over, unable to cope with changes, adult life and the departure of his friends.
So it's four characters whose vacations we follow, the events that bring them together as a group, then their evolution towards adult life.
A flirtatious and talkative boy falls in love with a traditional and discreet girl, and vice versa. However, something emerges from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, something special. Indeed, the film speaks of the confrontation between love and ambition, between dreams and reality. On the subject, we have already given with Abhimaan, Yes Boss and Kismat Konnection. But here, the reflection is more advanced than a chimerical dilemma often fantasized by cinema, Indian or elsewhere.
In Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, love can be as pure and sincere as possible, it is not whole and unconditional. Bunny is not ready to give up his dreams of travel and escape for the beautiful Naina, while the latter refuses to leave her family and her ambitions for her lover.
The characters, in their consciences and their reflections, are anchored in a certain realism, they have integrated that love is not limited to declarations. The long-awaited "I love you" does not in any way signal the end, since this expression has a logical consequence that is not necessarily easy to assume - commitment.
And if commitment is not in line with a professional activity, a religious conviction or a way of life, all the words of love in the world cannot save a relationship, much less watered down than many romantic comedies seem to want to make us swallow.
Ayan Mukerji made his first film in 2009 - the intimate Wake Up Sid, again with Ranbir Kapoor, who played opposite the formidable Konkona Sen Sharma. With Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, he offers us a more commercial work, entering the codes of pure Hindi cinema.
He has indeed sprinkled his work with wide shots, beautiful landscapes and singing sequences. What was appealing about Wake Up Sid was its humility, the fact that it was close to its characters and therefore to the viewer.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is in a completely different dimension, much more grandiloquent than its predecessor. We can feel the touch of producer Karan Johar, who has a taste for seeing everything 'larger than life'. The problem is that this very pompous aesthetic somewhat denaturalizes the purpose of the film. Because as we were saying, this film has something special.
Each character has their place, none is superfluous, not even the scatterbrained Lara, played by the pretty Evelyn Sharma who, however, only exists to arouse the annoyance and jealousy of the heroine. His presence in the cast thus has an essence, other than purely decorative. But the hero of the film is Bunny. Played by Ranbir Kapoor, this heartbreaker hides behind his nickname.
Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani is one of those Bollywood films that speaks with some accuracy about youthful friendship, even if the central subject remains the relationship between Bunny and Naina. Without dwelling heavily on it, the bonds that unite Bunny, Aditi and Avi are touching and ring true, especially in the second half.
As for the love story, it's a fairly classic plot that didn't particularly touch me, even if the ending suggests that Bunny and Naina aren't going to sacrifice their personalities for their love, and it's a rather encouraging moral.
The main problem for me comes from Naina's character who lacks consistency and depth, both excessively humble and unambitious (she doesn't want to experience a life other than hers because she's "just a modest girl" as she describes herself). She's also hyper-competitive and fierce, the best at everything type, which seems a bit contradictory.
Her shy and self-effacing side is probably there to give her a respectable fiancée side while counterbalancing Bunny's attitude, but it doesn't always fit with the independence and assertive personality she shows in other scenes.
Without being bad, Deepika Padukone is seriously underused and poorly highlighted in this role while we know she is much better - flamboyant in Ram-Leela, deep and touching in Cocktail or exuberant in Chennai Express. Unlike the heroines she played in these films, she is here rather banal and bland, neither annoying nor unforgettable.
On the other hand, the one who steals the show is Ranbir Kapoor. I read in a review of the film that Ranbir Kapoor was a real injustice to other actors of his generation. He makes no effort but his charm seeps into everything around him. And it's absolutely true! His charisma seems totally innate and natural. He doesn't need to try to convince us that the shy Naina could fall in love with him, we believe it as soon as we see him.
Unlike other actors, he also doesn't need to overdo it in terms of comedy, to display a dream body or to reveal a range of languorous poses to seduce. He simply needs to interact with others and he conquers his audience. With his joyful energy in the dances, his eternal good humor balanced with a certain depth, his mischievous smile, he is the one who persuades us to stay in front of the screen from beginning to end.
Alongside the two main actors, Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur are convincing and the fate of their characters is even quite unexpected! However, the production value and performances keep you hooked till the climax. The film also looks like a "Karan Johar" directed film in many parts.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is obviously a treat to watch and will definitely not ruin your weekend. The film is a fun and romantic rollercoaster pichkaari.
The film stands out for a charismatic performer, the dances and the music. These scenes alone require you to absolutely see the film. If you like Bollywood for its colorful and lively dances (but modernized version), you will be served! Each dance scene has a real place in the plot, builds enthusiasm and helps to make credible this "joie de vivre" that could have seemed a little artificial otherwise.
The soundtrack was a real hit and at least three of the songs are pure hits. I would like to put one or two here but the best song and dance where Ranbir Kapoor is king must in my opinion be discovered during the film. I have seen it 10 times before and I think the effect would have been even stronger if I had discovered it in the middle of the story without expecting it.
In short, a light film with an equally light storyline, charming actors, a nice enthusiasm, a pleasant aesthetic and a superb soundtrack. Some very forgettable elements… and others much less so! Mixed for me, especially for the lack of passion in the plot, even if there is not much to dislike, except perhaps Naina's limpness at the end.
A feel good movie between a friendship comedy and a romantic comedy, much more mature than it seems!
