Directed By: Ayan Mukerji

Written By: Ayan Mukerji

Cast:

Ranbir Kapoor – Kabir “Bunny” Thapar

Deepika Padukone – Naina Talwar

Aditya Roy Kapur – Avinash “Avi” Arora

Kalki Koechlin – Aditi Mehra

Kunaal Roy Kapur – Taran Saxena

Language: Hindi                      Genre: Coming-of-age; Romantic-Comedy

Ayan Mukerji’s next directorial venture Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwaani was announced under Dharma Productions and I was excited – a) it was Ayan Mukerji’s next after Wake Up Sid which I loved b) it had one-time couple Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor as the lead pair. Not that I thought they had a stunning chemistry in Bachna Ae Haseeno that I was dying to see them together rather that I wanted to see how they would deliver their onscreen romance after their rather public parting.

Then the media blitzkrieg started and the promotions (of which I saw a trailer and the song sequence Badtameez Dil) convinced me that the film was going to be a commercial potboiler not out of place in the Karan Johar repertoire and it didn’t disappoint. The film is Wake Up Sid meets Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham minus the excessive melodrama.

The film is very interior like Wake Up Sid and has some brilliant shots. The screenplay is well written and the cinematography is lovely. The film is peppered with songs and Pritam’s music is catchy and soulful – in one word, brilliant. The songs though well shot is like in any other Hindi film a music break. It adds to the story but should Ayan Mukerji have sought to remove it and put a scene, the song sequence wouldn’t have been missed.

The film is commercial and I thought it wouldn’t be able to recreate the magic of Wake Up Sid which did cater for a more niche audience but was nevertheless a mature film. However I enjoyed Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwaani because Ayan Mukerji manages to use clichés and spin something entirely different with it, giving viewers something new through the end.

The characters are well sketched out, resulting in some interesting performances by all involved including secondary characters. Though Dolly Ahluwalia who is in a blink and miss role could have been given more screen time and maybe more time on subplots would have made the film more memorable. All in all, a well cast film with the lead pair displaying wonderful chemistry though performance wise for me Deepika Padukone stood out.

Certain dialogues and scenes in the film just stood out for me, making them very memorable for me – Aditi’s private thoughts communicated to Kabir, Kabir’s conversation with his stepmom, Naina’s talk with Kabir where she changes the wording of his previously defensive statement making the meaning all the more poignant. So go catch the film, it is a light-hearted romance that is both fun and relatable, giving moments of hilarity and soul-searching.

I’ve stayed mum about this but for me the highlight of the film, when it started was seeing Madhuri Dixit….Dancing!