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{{short description|2004 Indian political action film}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Yuva
| image          = Yuva (movie poster).jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Mani Ratnam]]
| screenplay     = Mani Ratnam {{infobox | decat = yes | child = yes
| label1 = Dialogues by
| data1 = [[Anurag Kashyap]]
}}
| producer       = Mani Ratnam<br/>G. Srinivasan
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Ajay Devgn]]|[[Abhishek Bachchan]]|[[Vivek Oberoi]]|[[Rani Mukerji]]|[[Kareena Kapoor]]|[[Esha Deol]]}}
| cinematography = [[Ravi K. Chandran]]
| editing        = [[A. Sreekar Prasad]]
| music          = [[A. R. Rahman]]
| studio         = [[Madras Talkies]]
| distributor    = Madras Talkies
| released       = {{Film date|2004|05|22|df=yes}}
| runtime        = 162 minutes
| country        = India
| language       = Hindi
| budget         = ₹18 crore<ref>{{cite news |url=http://filmfaremagazine.indiatimes.com/articleshow/752564.cms?&right=1&fright=1&botlink=1 |title=Box Office |date=July 2004 |work=[[Filmfare]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040705124037/http://filmfaremagazine.indiatimes.com/articleshow/752564.cms?&right=1&fright=1&botlink=1 |archive-date=5 July 2004 |access-date=20 April 2021 |url-status=dead }}</ref><!--Must be attributed to a reliable published source with an established reputation for fact-checking. No blogs, no IMDb.-->
| gross          = {{Estimation}} ₹26 crore<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=210&catName=/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102065130/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=210&catName=/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2013|title=Boxofficeindia.com|date=2 November 2013}}</ref>
}}

'''''Yuva''''' ({{Translation}} Youth) is a 2004 Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[political fiction|political action]] film written, produced, and directed by [[Mani Ratnam]]''.'' It stars [[Ajay Devgn]], [[Abhishek Bachchan]], [[Vivek Oberoi]], [[Rani Mukerji]], [[Kareena Kapoor Khan|Kareena Kapoor]] and [[Esha Deol]]. It was simultaneously shot in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] as ''[[Aayutha Ezhuthu]]'' but with a completely different cast, excluding Deol. The film's rights are owned by [[Red Chillies Entertainment]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yuva – Red Chillies Entertainment |url=https://www.redchillies.com/movies/yuva#menu1 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.redchillies.com}}</ref>

At the [[50th Filmfare Awards]], ''Yuva'' won a leading six awards, including [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film|Best Film (Critics)]], [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] (Bachchan), and [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] (Mukerji). ''Yuva'' was also a breakthrough for Bachchan as he won the [[Stardust Award for Actor of the Year – Male]] for his performance.

==Plot==
The film begins with Lallan Singh ([[Abhishek Bachchan]]) shooting Michael "Mike" Mukherjee ([[Ajay Devgn]]) on his bike, resulting in him falling off the [[Vidyasagar Setu]] into the water below, which is witnessed by Arjun Balachandran ([[Vivek Oberoi]]). The film then unveils the characters' pre-incident flashbacks.

Lallan is a [[Goon squad|goon]], originally from [[Bihar]] but settled in [[Kolkata]], West Bengal, because his brother Gopal Singh ([[Sonu Sood]]) has left him alone and he has no option of earning money back home. He loves, marries, and abuses his wife, Shashi Biswas ([[Rani Mukerji]]). He gets into a contract under Gopal's recommendation to run errands and work as a [[hitman]] for Prosenjit Bhattacharya ([[Om Puri]]), a politician.

Michael is an influential student leader who wants politicians like Prosenjit to keep away from college elections. His closest associates are his best friends Vishnu ([[Karthik Kumar]]) and Trilok ([[Abhinav Kashyap]]). Among the two, Vishnu acts as a right-hand man to Michael. Michael, in his personal life, is in love with his neighbour Radhika ([[Esha Deol]]), who lives with her uncle and aunt. Prosenjit is worried when he hears news of students standing in the election. He uses every possible way to get them out of politics. First, he provides a scholarship to a prestigious foreign university to Michael. When Michael refuses the bribe, he orders his goon, Gopal, to take control. Gopal orders Lallan to beat up Trilok, which he does, but faces very strong retaliation from Michael and his fellow students.

Arjun Balachandran ([[Vivek Oberoi]]) is the carefree and spoiled son of an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer. He wants to relocate to the U.S. for a better future. He falls in love with Meera ([[Kareena Kapoor]]), whom he has just met. Arjun asks Meera for coffee, takes her to the beach, and realizes that Meera loves him back. One day, Arjun proposes to Meera, prompting her to playfully avoid him by getting into a taxi. Arjun gets a lift from Michael, who is travelling in the same direction to catch up with Meera, who is going that way. Suddenly, Michael is hit by three bullets (shot by Lallan) and falls off the bridge. He is critically injured but is saved by Arjun and Meera.

Lallan finds out that Michael is recovering from his injuries, and this is witnessed by Arjun, who follows him to apprehend him, only for Lallan to beat him up badly and leave him with a broken arm. After staying by his side until his recovery, Arjun changes his mind and joins hands with Michael to contest in the elections. Lallan later kills Gopal when he finds out that he had been instructed by Prosenjit to take him out due to Lallan leaving an eyewitness (Arjun) behind the bridge incident. He confronts Prosenjit, who brainwashes him to work for him and orders him to kidnap Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok. However, they escape with the help of Lallan's ally Dablu ([[Vijay Raaz]]), who has a change of heart after realizing that their profession was interfering with their personal lives, causing Sashi to leave Lallan for her hometown. He convinces Lallan, however, to no avail, and is killed by him when he aids Arjun's escape.

While running, Arjun calls Michael for help, but Lallan easily catches and beats him up. Michael arrives at the nick of time to rescue Arjun at [[Vidyasagar Setu]]. A fight ensues between the three men, where Lallan is overpowered by Michael, who spares him and leaves him for the police. Lallan is handed over to the police. Michael, Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok win the four seats they had contested for and thus enter politics.

==Cast==
{{colbegin}}
* [[Ajay Devgn]] as Michael "Mike" Mukherjee, an activist who wants to encourage students to enter politics (Loosely based on [[George Reddy]])
* [[Abhishek Bachchan]] as Lallan Singh, a goon working as muscle for politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya
* [[Vivek Oberoi]] as Arjun Balachandran, a wealthy young man who dreams of going to America
* [[Rani Mukerji]] as Shashi Biswas Singh, Lallan's wife
* [[Kareena Kapoor]] as Meera, a girl who is going to Kanpur and Arjun's love interest
* [[Esha Deol]] as Professor Radhika, Michael's neighbor and also his love interest
* [[Om Puri]] as Prosenjit Bhattacharya, a ruthless politician and Lallan's boss who wants to get the college students out of politics
* [[Anant Nag]] as IAS Avinash Balachandran, Arjun's father
* [[Vijay Raaz]] as Dablu, Lallan's friend who helps Arjun, Vishnu, and Trilok escape
* [[Sonu Sood]] as Gopal Singh, Lallan's brother, a goon who had left his brother alone and later gets killed by him
* [[Saurabh Shukla]] as Dr. Gopal, Radhika's uncle
* [[Karthik Kumar]] as Vishnu, Michael's close associate who acts as a right-hand man to him
* [[Abhinav Kashyap]] as Trilok, Michael's close associate who once gets beaten up by Lallan Singh
* [[Paras Arora]] as Arvind Balachandran, Arjun's younger brother
* [[Tanusree Chakraborty]] as Arjun's classmate
* Kharaj Mukherjee as Advocate Vishal Ghoshal
* [[Brijendra Kala]] as Sheshadri, a newspaper editor 
* Sujata Sehgal as Joe Mukherjee, Michael's sister
* [[Lekha Washington]] as the girl at the embassy
* [[Simran (actress)|Simran]] (uncredited)
{{colend}}

== Production ==
[[Hrithik Roshan]] was initially offered the role of Lallan Singh, but was replaced by [[Abhishek Bachchan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/29bhoot.htm |title=Bhoot, now in Tamil |work=Rediff.com |access-date=2020-03-09 |archive-date=17 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517172031/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/29bhoot.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382383/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv |title=Yuva |work=IMDb.com |access-date=10 July 2023 |archive-date=10 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710044051/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382383/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv |url-status=live }}</ref>

The film was shot at different locations, including [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Bhopal]], [[Theni]], [[Pollachi]] and other areas of [[West Bengal]]. During the shoot in Chennai, ambassador cars were painted yellow to make them look like Kolkata taxis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13179000|title=Latest on Mani Ratnam's mov(i)e! - Sify.com|website=[[Sify]] |date=2 September 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030902101210/http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13179000 |archive-date=2 September 2003 }}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name       = Yuva
| type       = Soundtrack
| artist     = [[A. R. Rahman]]
| cover      =
| alt        =
| released   = 18 March 2005 (India)
| recorded   = [[Panchathan Record Inn]]
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Film soundtrack]]
| length     =
| label      = [[Venus Records & Tapes]]
| producer   = [[A.R. Rahman]]
| prev_title = [[Mangal Pandey: The Rising]]
| prev_year  = 2005
| next_title = [[Kisna: The Warrior Poet]]
| next_year  = 2005
}}

The soundtrack features six songs by [[A. R. Rahman]], with lyrics by [[Mehboob (lyricist)|Mehboob]]. The rap and lyrics for the song "Dol Dol" were written by [[Blaaze]].

{| class="wikitable tracklist" style="font-size:95%;"
! Song !! Singer(s) !! Length
|-
| "Dhakka Laga Bukka"
| [[A. R. Rahman]], [[Karthik (singer)|Karthik]], Mehboob
| 04:56
|-
| "Khuda Hafiz"
| [[Sunitha Sarathy]], [[Lucky Ali]], Karthik
| 05:02
|-
| "Kabhi Neem Neem"
| [[Madhushree]], [[A. R. Rahman]]
| 04:49
|-
| "Dol Dol"
| [[Blaaze]], [[Shahin Badar]] <small>(Ethnic Vocals)</small>
| 03:59
|-
| "Baadal"
| [[Adnan Sami]], [[Alka Yagnik]]
| 05:25
|-
| "Fanaa"
| [[A. R. Rahman]], [[Sunitha Sarathy]], [[Tanvi Shah|Tanvi]]
| 04:41
|}

==Reception==

===Critical reception===
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with Bachchan and Mukerji's performances receiving particular praise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibosnetwork.com/newsmanager/templates/template1.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125183011/http://www.ibosnetwork.com/newsmanager/templates/template1.aspx?a=21930&z=7%2F|url-status=dead|title=Box Offfice Decade in Review: 2004 – Veer Zaara, Dhoom 1, Main Hoon Naa|archive-date = 25 January 2013}}</ref> A critic from ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the film "has a sharp political edge that is rare in Hindi-language films, celebrated as they are for their wildly exuberant production numbers and sugary love stories".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/21/movies/film-in-review-yuva.html|title=FILM IN REVIEW; 'Yuva'|first=Dave|last=Kehr|date=21 May 2004|via=NYTimes.com|access-date=30 October 2023|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404012131/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/21/movies/film-in-review-yuva.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that the movie had the narrative style of the 2000 Mexican film ''[[Amores perros|Amores Perros]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/mani-is-the-matter-on-chekka-chivantha-vaanam/article25130855.ece|title=Mani is the matter: on Chekka Chivantha Vaanam|first=S. Shiva|last=Kumar|newspaper=The Hindu|date=5 October 2018|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-date=10 March 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200310041826/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/mani-is-the-matter-on-chekka-chivantha-vaanam/article25130855.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-was-nayakan-inspired-by-the-godfather-1920072|title=Was 'Nayakan' inspired by 'The Godfather'?|first=Subhash K.|last=Jha|date=16 November 2013|website=DNA India|access-date=20 October 2019|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020142154/https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-was-nayakan-inspired-by-the-godfather-1920072|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Box office===
''Yuva'' grossed {{INRConvert|173.5|m|nolink=yes}} at Indian box office. ''Yuva'' did well in multiplexes. But it did not do well in single-screen theatres.
Compared to other parts of the country, it fared better in [[Mumbai]]. The Mumbai distributors recovered the cost of the film, but the sub-territory distributors in places like Surat and Baroda lost money. In places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and even South India, distributors lost around {{INR}} 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) to {{INR}} 1 crore ({{INR}} 10 million). In states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the viewers couldn't relate to the film, hence leading to dismal business. Overseas, too, the film did below-average business.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/02yuva2.htm|title=Yuva a loser?|website=Rediff|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204054153/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/02yuva2.htm/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/02yuva1.htm|title=Give Yuva a chance. Don't kill it!|website=Rediff|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024073240/https://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/02yuva1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Accolades ==
{{Main|List of accolades received by Yuva}}

The film received several accolades, including a leading 6 [[Filmfare Awards]], one [[IIFA Awards|IIFA Award]], one [[Producers Guild Film Awards]], four [[Screen Awards]] and two [[Stardust Awards]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dhirad |first=Sandeep |date=2006 |title=Filmfare Nominees and Winners |url=https://sites.google.com/site/deep750/FilmfareAwards.pdf?attredirects=0 |url-status=live |pages=116–119 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019034032/https://sites.google.com/site/deep750/FilmfareAwards.pdf?attredirects=0 |archive-date=19 October 2015 |access-date=26 August 2021 |work=[[Filmfare]] }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Bollywood Hungama movie|yuva}}

{{Mani Ratnam}}
{{FilmfareCriticsAwardBestMovie}}
{{Madras Talkies}}

[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2000s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:2000s political drama films]]
[[Category:2000s political thriller films]]
[[Category:Indian multilingual films]]
[[Category:Indian nonlinear narrative films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mani Ratnam]]
[[Category:Indian political thriller films]]
[[Category:Hyperlink films]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films set in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Films scored by A. R. Rahman]]
[[Category:2004 multilingual films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films shot in Chennai]]
[[Category:Films shot in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Films shot in Pollachi]]
[[Category:Films shot in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Student politics in India]]
[[Category:Films set in universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Films produced by Mani Ratnam]]
[[Category:Hindi-language drama films]]