Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani - Not really Diwani , but very tipsy
With a deja vu title , a star cast that boasts youth icons like Ranvir and Deepika and foot tapping music by Pritam you except a fun ride filled with tender moments that tugs your heart and refreshes your mind. Nothing sort of paisa wasool will do.
However Ayan Mukherji who had a decent start with Wake up Sid lets the Karan Johar banner get ahead of him . I feel Karan Johar when he directs still has a fresh look within his own template - his Student of the Year still had enjoyable moments as a college yarn and so did Dostana although they failed in other departments. However people who direct under his banner seem needlessly constrained especially when they make romantic movies. ( Agneepath was the exception where Karan Malhotra could evolve the original since the genre was different ) .
So we have a super standard script -
a guy who wants to pursue his dreams - mein udna chahta hoon Ranbir.
a girl who wants to study for medicine - mein padna chahti hoon Dipika
a friend who wants to take on panga - mein ladna chahti hoon Kalki Kochelin
a friend who wants to drink, gamble and lose - mein peena chahta hoon Roy Kapur.
We also have the parents here - doting in case of Ranbir and noting in case of Dipika. Faroque Shaik bringing a sense of realism by mere presence .. Characterizations are done within the first half hour with perfunctory ease
So we have a trip - very similar to Bachna Ae Haseeno , where girl will meet other 3. Not every entertaining as a trip if it were not for Kalki's boisterousness , an almost cliched Ranbir ( he is one step away from the open arms that SRK perfected over a much longer time) and some hot passengers who reduce the overall IQ of the trek.
But everything changes when you see this movie from the lens of Deepika aptly named Naina although called a Chasmis by her school chums..Maybe I instantly like movies where protagonists study well :) and Deepika is more than eye candy in this movie. Her acting skills that got rerated after Cocktail helps the movie stay a notch above at times and she is the character you want to root for as she is the underdog.... A medical student who wants to blossom , have her first kiss, explore herself but at the same time have focused career goals.. ( its not such a big conflict in real life for attractive medical students ).. You can see how much deepika has progressed when you contrast her stuffy taxi driver act with Ranbir in bachna yeh haseeeno... Her dancing , watch her in dilliwzli girlfriend now has the stamp of Bollywood thumkaitsch. .. That was the only missing link in her superstardom ...and she has corrected that also...
Ranbir Kapoor gets weighed down by having done this role before - the guy who doesnt want dal chawal , wants to see the world and never settle.. He is trying to be forlorn, focused and free flowing at the same time .. The Kabira song makes his attempts worthwhile but for the rest of the movie he is like Rahul Dravid in a drawn test match ...
Ayan Mukherji sets it up well and goes downhill after the first 80 minutes.. The biggest problem is the background of the big fat Indian wedding that seems so premeditated or pre-templatized that the movie moves to one half baked situation after another... Ranbir confronting his friend Roy Kapur on his weakness, Deepika meeting Ranbir again , all the situations lack any real conviction.... In fact alcohol is flowing so freely in these scenes by this time in the movie that there should be a big banner that too many drinks is injurious to viewers and directors alike...treat yjhd like a party and dismiss it as one ..
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