Youngistaan

This film tells the story of a young man who lives a life of indulgence in Tokyo. He suddenly becomes the prime minister of India, and he did evening he can to change the nation for the better, while navigating the treacherous world of politics.

I was waiting for the typical (or stereotypical) Bollywood scene where all the characters suddenly burst into a frenzy of music and dance. I was disappointed because the film stays a drama all along, and there was no Bollywood dance scene. The plot is alright, portraying the young prime minister to be an unlikely hero. Even though the film is a drama, the film maintains a light hearted atmosphere. It's enjoyable, but probably also forgettable.

Though politics can easily be quoted as one of the most favorite subjects of general discussion in the public, still for a film adaptation it has always been a dicey one with only few exceptions in the past. So at one end, YOUNGISTAAN can surely be rated as a brave film, trying to en-cash the current political mood of the whole country with a positive message. But on the other, the way it has been presented before the audience with a specific purpose & perfect timing, it more seems to be the part of publicity campaign of one of the leading parties of the nation, rather than being a new Hindi Film in totality.

Directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, it begins too casually with a party song straight away and then starts imitating the real life political scenario of India, focusing completely on the young character of Jacky Bhagnani as the next Prime Minister of the country and nothing else. The boy reaches the reputed post all of a sudden just because of a favourable stroke of destiny and one can easily raise many questions on the sequences depicting his unexpected entry in politics executed so casually. However following a very light, comic progression, the film does manage to hook you up initially due to its novel concept and few enjoyable scenes. But once the script completely goes into politics; everything starts happening too quickly and in quite a childish way too, forgetting that we are actually talking about A President, PM and other prominent figures running our country and not any high profile owners of a big corporate firm doing the routine business.

So in real terms, YOUNGISTAAN fails to make an impact as it gets confused between various genres and is not able to follow any particular one throughout. In the first few reels, it is a comedy, in the middle ones it turns into a half heartedly made political thriller and then in the last few it becomes a boring social drama with a message given in a prolonged climax. As a result it can simply be rated as a film with an important & heavy subject, made in an equally light, careless or immature way without having any clear path.

To name the plus points, its production design is eye-catching, background score is decent and the soundtrack has got a good song too as 'Suno Na Sangemarmar'. Moroever Jacky once again gives an impressive performance with all his calm charm and Neha Sharma does fine too looking beautiful on the screen. The rest of the cast including Boman Irani, Meeta Vashisht and Kayoze Irani get nothing much to do, except late Farooque Sheikh, who is an absolutely delight to watch and remains the only saving grace in the film right till the end.

In short, it's the post interval section of the film which makes it quite boring to watch as we have already seen enough of that stuff on our TV sets since the last few months. Coming to its realistic references, such are the straight similarities of the film with the contemporary Indian Politics and its ruling party that at times one starts thinking that perhaps this has been made by the party only in order to spread a positive wave about their candidates in the next election. For instance, it has a scene wherein Jackie is probably inaugurating a very high rise statue of a key figure (pointing towards Sardar Patel) and then we have a TV interview of him taken by a renowned journalist named Parnab too (reminding you of Arnab of Times Now Channel). Further the film releasing in a very crucial week just before the elections surely puts you in doubts about the real motive of its making and the actual producers.

Anyway whatever the truth behind its production might be, the basic point is that the film actually suffers a lot due to the completely confused vision of its director, following which he tries to put in almost everything to woo the audience ranging from a video game developer's job, live in relationship, having a child before the marriage and a lead character named Dashrath wearing a purely Muslim attire (to please both the communities). Moreover YOUNGISTAAN can also be called an entirely filmy take or a questionable fantasy version of the current political situation of our country, wherein there is no strong opposition in the picture and also ready made solutions are available with the Prime Minister for every major problem as if he is still playing a video game knowing all its codes.

'Youngistaan' may not be flawless or a razor-sharp political satire, but its A Well-Made, Honest Film. Its potential cannot be denied, despite its visible minuses!

'Youngistaan' Synopsis: Abhimanyu Kaul - a young, independent, Games Developer, living in Japan & the love of his life, Anwita Chauhan - a bubbly, passionate & full of life, summer intern. Their happy and content life faces the test of time, when blood ties & the pressure of being born into the first family of India tears a young Abhimanyu between his love for Anwita & a promise made to his dying father, the Prime Minister of India. Being a public figure, by reluctantly accepting to represent the governing party, much against his own wishes & at the cost of his private life, is a double-edged sword that Abhimanyu must walk on.

'Youngistaan' explores an underdog's story with honesty. It begins well, it progresses well, as the humor works, the political portions work & so do the performances. But, the second-hour begins to lose pace. Once our protagonist, turns into the most powerful man of the country, his journey grips you completely. But, the subplot, the romantic-angle, acts as a deterrent, more-so in the second-hour. Its stagnates the pace as well as the overall impact. Another thing, the length could've been trimmed, by at least 15-minutes.

Syed Ahmad Afzal's Screenplay does justice to an interesting premise, but could've been sharper. His Direction, on the other-hand, is controlled. Cinematography & Editing are good.

Performance-Wise: Jackky Bhagnani enacts the protagonist, with sincerity. He's controlled, mature & believable all through. This has to be his best work till date. Neha Sharma does an okay job. The Late/Great Farooq Sheikh is a joy to watch, as always. Boman Irani is wasted.

On the whole, 'Youngistaan' is a good watch.

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid

Rating: 3.4/5 stars

A wonderful ideology, well-executed within the best of its limitations. "Youngistaan" addresses some pressing and extremely relevant topics, and while the film doesn't always succeed in presenting a lucid theory towards these problems plaguing the nation, it does manage to stir emotions and inspire viewers to a degree by serving a pertinent canvas of political issues.

Director, Syed Ahmed Afzal, weaves a decent narrative around an inspirational plot, and even though his handling of this complex subject is a tad underwhelming at times, at the end of the day he does manage to get the tone and feel of the film right. Superior scripting and crisper plot transitions could have helped the film convey its message more assuredly, nevertheless, given a chance "Youngistaan" does grow on you over the course of its approximately 2-hour duration.

Punching way above its weight, "Youngistaan" is pleasantly entertaining and thought-provoking. More importantly, it gives Farooq Shaikh a memorable swansong in a well-written role.

I have looked at several movies based on Indian politics (Raajneeti being the best) This is by far the most boring. It was an interesting premise: about a young man who is thrust into Indian politics and becomes the leader of one of the world's largest democracies. However, I believe that shoddy direction resulted in an uninspiring movie. The acting left a lot to be desired.Jacky's attempt to pull of the role of a serious politician fell flat, and I am yet to figure out what Neha's role in this movie was. Farooq Shaik's role wasn't bad, but it was brief.The music was totally lacklustre, the only "good" song being Suno Na. All other songs came across as noise. Final Rating 3/10