Movie Review – Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani

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What do you expect from a Karan Johar movie?

1. Good performances and good chemistry between the leads?
2. Soulful music?
3. Beautiful locales?
4. Story?
5. Melodrama?

Does the movie deliver on all these counts? Let’s check it out?

Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani (YJHD) is directed by Ayan Mukherji whose first movie was “Wake Up Sid” and produced by Dharma Productions. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur in lead roles. The movie has been in the news since the time the promos began airing on TV.

It’s the story of Bunny (Ranbir), Naina (Deepika), Aditi (Kalki) and Avi (Aditya). Its the story of their friendship and love. Its the story of growing up from just studying and enjoying life to becoming mature adults. Its the story of these four which begins from an adventure holiday and moves on to one of their marriages.

Though the storyline is quite wafer-thin, its the treatment which helps the flick navigate the rough waters. The characters and situations are quite believable. The dialogues are witty and hilarious at times holding the movie strongly. The narrative moves at quite a fast pace particularly in the first half. The usual camaraderie and fun among friends is portrayed quite well.

Though there are a lot of songs which keep popping up, they are all really melodious. Whether its ‘Ilahi’ or ‘Balam Pichkari’ or even ‘Kabira’, each song composed by Pritam is a delight. Ranbir’s dance steps particularly in ‘Badtameez Dil’ are quite awesome. Madhuri makes a fine impact in her ‘Ghagra’ performance. V Manikandan’s cinematography is splendid. Whether its Paris or Manali or Kashmir, he captures the sights and sounds of each and every location quite beautifully.

Negatives? Yes. The biggest problem of the movie is its length. The second half starts off well but starts to taper off with too much melodrama as the movie goes on and on. As is Karan Johar’s style, the story is filled with quite a few cliches as well. But you would say that works with the audiences right?

Ranbir Kapoor is fantastic as Bunny. He manages to be childish, funny, mature or even serious depending on the situation. Deepika plays her part quite well. She has improved as an actress by leaps and bounds from her ‘Om Shanti Om’ days. Her transformation from the nerdy Naina to the sexy Naina is quite awesome. Kalki is bubbly, energetic and vivacious and manages to hold fort despite being the second lead. Aditya Roy Kapoor is efficient as Avi. But seriously, he needs to stop taking these roles which require him to drink all the time. First it was Aashiqui2 and now this. Guess he’s soon going to be stereotyped for sure. Its evident that Evelyn Sharma has been taken to show her anatomy rather than anything else. And she’s awful. Kunal Roy Kapoor, Farooque Sheikh and Tanvi Azmi are competent. Rana Daggubati and Poorna Jagannathan don’t have much to do.

All in all with beautiful songs, lovely chemistry between Ranbir and Deepika, splendid locations and a fresh treatment to the story you won’t be disappointed. Go for it!

Rating – 3.5/5