Yuvvraaj 2050
“(It was ahead of its times)That’s one of the reasons I postponed watching it.”
-Professor ATM Yadav
Enough of this Slumdog humbug. It truly pains me to see everyone singing Jai Ho to an astonishingly overhyped British film, while the Indian masterpiece for which the Oscar winning song was originally composed lies unsung, brutalised, trashed.
It all began when I read this article where our very own showman Mr. Subhash Ghai stoically said- “Yuvvraaj was ahead of its times… it will be appreciated in a few years for sure. I will continue to make films in spite of all the criticism that I get for them.”
I winced and felt dwarfed by guilt and self doubt. It was after all, this very so-called film reviewer who last year, mercilessly ripped apart this futuristic classic and labelled it the worst film of the year. Had I become so arrogant that I could not accept the fact that a film starring Salman Khan had actually gone over my head? Had I too become one of all these fake pseudo inellectuals and their biradari?! As these questions plagued and haunted me day and night like the background score of Sarkar, I decided to go on a journey in search of the truth and enlightenment.
Presenting here are excerpts from a chat with a student of the Whistling Woods International film Institute that changed my life, my perspectives and the way I look at the craft of cinema forever:
So, at the very outset- what is Yuvvraaj really about?
Ah, where do I begin. It is really astonishing that no one even at PFC- where films like No Smoking are hailed- could actually scratch the shiny surface and see and appreciate the audaciously subversive film that Yuvvraaj is. It’s a shame, really.
Hmm. It would be an understatement to say I’m intrigued- I almost have a hard-on.
Well, I wouldn’t be so pompous and pigheaded, really to say that I have really unearthed all the wondrous subtext this film contains. Everytime I watch it, Yuvvraaj reveals a new layer- it is perhaps Guruji’s most enigmatic work.
What most people don’t realize is that beneath the seemingly lush surface of Yuvvraaj lies a brutally sardonic film- in fact it is almost reminscent of A Clockwork Orange- but Ghai Sir, unlike that overrated Kubrick guy chose subtlety over come-baby-eat-kinda-spoonfeeding, and paid the price. In my individualistic opinion, it was its trajectory that led to its tragedy.
Wow. To be honest, the last time my mind and senses felt this clogged, bogged and fogged was when I was watching Banaras- another masterpiece that continues to elude me.
Well, we’ll talk about Mr Parashar’s fascinating film another time. For know, let’s concentrate our energies on Yuvvraaj. This might give you a bit of a shock, but Yuvvraaj really is Subhash Ghai’s powerful and harsh indinctment of the Indian film industry, farcically known as Bollywood.
(I pause for a moment to look for my jaw, which has dropped somewhere in the vicinity) W-H-A-T?
Haha. I’m used to getting that kind of reaction… but it’s really true. The film actually brutally mocks the industry and how it thrives on excesses. It ridicules the system where untalented but influential star-children are promoted to the top of the ranks and talent is given no importance. In fact, it is a rare film that doesn’t even spare its own actors this humiliation, though I doubt they were really aware of this.
Please explain.
Yuvvraaj, as you perhaps know, means ‘prince’ or ‘heir to the throne’. So we have Salman Khan and Zayed Khan playing two good-for-nothing sons of a rich industrialist. One is a chorus-boy who can’t sing saala, one is a playboy who spends his time gambling away at casinos. Deven Yuvvraaj (Salman Khan)- thrown out of his house by his father- is apparently struggling to make ends meet, which to him means living in a plush apartment (smaller than the Louvre-like palatial mansion of his father) wearing D&G sunglasses and riding a Ducati motorbike.
Don’t you see the real-life parallel? Both the ‘actors’ are from influential film families, and as far as their acting skills go- well, the less said the better. If there was any doubt regarding their sheer lack of any thespian flair, Ghai Sir does enough to dispel it. In fact, Deven Yuvvraaj more than once shows shades of Salman Khan’s real life personality.
So you mean the film actually tries to expose the fact that these two guys can’t act?
Yes, and how! Just look at those scenes where Salman proudly declares himself to be a ‘bad boy’ as if it’s a feather in his cap, or the Eisensteinian montage towards the end where images of mannequins are collided with those of Zayed. They make you simultaneously laugh and weep and almost make Katrina Kaif look like Meryl Streep.
Danny Yuvvraaj’s track is in fact, the most moving and relatable of the lot. A useless cad, he is stripped of all his money and privileges which he takes for granted, but he cannot accept the fact that he is in fact, no good at anything. As the evil bahu in the house (a sharp jibe at Ekta kapoor’s serials) says- ‘Satya ko sweekar karo, Danny.’ Finally when he is left alone after his car breaks down in a desolate place, he realises how he’s been inflicting himself on the world and yells in a heart-rending scream- “AAAAHHH! WHAT HAVE I DONE?” Unfortunately for us, the actor playing him, Zayed Khan has not yet dawned upon the fact that he is no good at his profession, and that he must stop torturing us with his pathetic on-screen antics.
What about Anil Kapoor? Surely he’s a decent actor, even if he behaves inappropriately at international award functions?
Of course he is. Gyanesh Yuvvraaj is the only talented one of the 3 brother’s and look at how he’s treated in the film. The industry puts these labels on anyone who’s talented- autistic, pseudo, eccentric, mad. Even the psychologist in the film says- “Inhe Genius Disorder hai.” Truly, Bollywood is a place where being a genius is not an asset, but a disorder.
Again, his casting is a stroke of genius- Anil Kapoor, the self-proclaimed slumdog- a man who made it on his own and on the basis of sheer talent. In fact, Ghai Sir thinks there is some kind of Karmic connection between Slumdog Millionaire and Yuvvraaj- and hence, he didn’t hesitate a second in letting them use Jai Ho.
My God. I am truly shocked to know that such brilliance was overlooked by everyone, and that sadly includes me!
Yes, indeed it is sad. I mean how many people actually realised that the song Tu Hi To Meri Dost Hai is a sharp dig at all those Bollywood couples who insist on just being called ‘good friends’? How many knew that AR Rahman was made to listen to 100 hits by Viju Shah, Pritam and Anu Malik before composing Shano Shano? If you thought his music was his worst score in ages, it is because it was meant to show the state of Indian film music that is aping the west without any originality. Why do you think there were those montages with Beethoven, Mozart and company looking flabbergasted?
Please, continue to educate us on more of the film’s inticracies.
Ghai Sir also criticises the lack of economy in storytelling. When Salman is asked to call Zayed for the distribution of their father’s assets, he takes a flight to Austria to communicate what could have been said by a mere phone call. As I said before, these subtle puns cannot be appreciated by everyone.
Oh- we’ve not been able to discuss a lot in detail, but I’m afraid I’m out of time- I need to rush to write a post for PFC before I am thrown out of this site, especially with the rubbish I’ve been writing of late. But I have to say I am awed by your in-depth perception of cinema- how can I gain some of your insight?
It’s all thanks to Whistling Woods where it is a habit for everyone to go beyond the given. Ghai Sir has a unique vision for this institute through which he intends to give rise to new, world class talent and bring opportunities to people beyong the rich and famous, and Yuvvraaj almost stands as testimony to this mission statement.
But with the tuition fees going as high as 4-5 lakhs a year, isn’t it really out of reach for most of us?
Well, um, you know even I am getting late for my screenwriting class… we’ll continue this discussion another time- see you!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Haha Jahan! Loved it yaar!
But yaar you toh put me off,
I thought Il go to Whistling Woods :(
Tune hurt kar diya yaar
“Inhe Genius Disorder hai.”
OMG!!! are you serious?
Shit! I missed a masterpiece!
Simply Funny!!
Jehan yaar.. Jahan ne tumhara 4-5 lak bachadiya..
Jahan- that was quite funny dude.Loved reading it
Finally, the blogosphere acknowledges the masterpiece that will put even Kubrick to shame…
on WWI students, my experiences with some of them are stuff of legends
now thats an intelligent student…;-)
wow…..what an explanation….u must be from a business school ! ….where people teach how to cheat…..brother….u should be in some corporate house and sell your stuff rather then making such stories to convince us…..what we are?…public?
and what is public?…..they are nothing until and unless there is a revolution.
I would like to say….instead of showing the fact of the character and capability of few rich children….there are lotsa stories to tell people….hell lots of….coz our indian art and litarature is not so weak and not to limited to express….the thing is….you should know and read it.
thanks for your seleble gyan….but sorry….i am nor agree…:-)
smile
be happy
trust me dude, whistling woods is a v good institute. . .subhash ghai wudnt have got admission if he applied
LOL @ this:
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“how many people actually realised that the song Tu Hi To Meri Dost Hai is a sharp dig at all those Bollywood couples who insist on just being called ‘good friends’?”
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very entertaining read Jehan, thanks!
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My only regret is that you’ve piqued my curiousity enough that I may watch the film on DVD today…
Sorry, not Jehan but Jahan… sorry bhai, dil me mat lena…
“AR Rahman was made to listen to 100 hits by Viju Shah, Pritam and Anu Malik before composing Shano Shano”…
awesome…:D
haha. what fun read.
well written post, but idisagree with your point this was not of best ARR’s track.I feel this was one of the best but ghia wasted again as he did with him in Kisna.
gr8 post Jahan….
ha ha.. loved it…
great..fantastic..Hope that Zayed Khan reads this come to his senses,use his talent somewhere else..
One of the masterpieces in the movie involved Katrina shouting ‘woh ek hardcore anti family man hai’. This movie is a classic, I saw it on a bus journey, need to see it again in the comforts of the home to catch relive some of the moments.
brilliant post!:)
Awesome post .. 5 stars .. If only Ghai had taken the kind of effort that you took in reviewing it.