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Writer's pictureBhavik Kadecha

Politics and Love in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva

Yuva (2004) is an Indian political thriller directed by Mani Ratnam. The film charts the journey of three characters; Lallan, a ruthless gangster, Micheal, a student union leader and Arjun, son of a retired government officer. Set in Kolkata, West Bengal, one incident on the famous Howrah Bridge brings these three characters together that decides the course of the film. A state that has seen years of political turmoil that began with the 1971 War that ended in the creation of Bangladesh from a part of Bengal, to the rise and defeat of the communist state party, thereby providing an ideal stage for this political thriller to unfold. As the film opens the viewers meet the three characters on the Howrah Bridge and then are taken into a flashback where Lallan is playing “Kabaddi” (Kabaddi is an Indian sport that normally requires seven players divided in two teams. A single player on offence is supposed to run into the opposite team’s court close enough to tag one or more of them, all the while repeating “Kabaddi Kabaddi” without taking a break and then return to the respective court without getting caught by anyone from the other team.) in the prison with his fellow inmates. He is seen running around the players saying “Lal Lal” in a continuous manner, ‘Lal’ meaning the colour red. His sequences are mostly shadowed in the shades of red in terms of costumes as well as production design, one of the ways in which the film is using the state’s political history and tension as a context for this character's life. Lallan and his wife Sashi’s relationship is strained by the power politics in the domestic space where we often see the male dominating over the female in every way. Sashi is a victim of domestic abuse throughout the film which garners a sympathetic reaction from the audience for her. She wants Lallan to turn over a new leaf and become a better man which is a conventional way of positioning the audience in the light of a good character. The film uses casteism as a tool to comment over the political scenario of the time through the three characters : Lallan, Michael and Arjun. The names of the characters also shed light over hierarchy in the Indian society, like Lallan would suggest that he is from a lower class, Micheal being a Christian name points out to minorities, and Arjun inclines towards a more upper class and a comfortable life. Micheal, a college union leader, helps his friend’s village members who belong to a minority caste and are victims at the hands of a corrupt government. He encourages the villagers to have a candidate that stands against the MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) in the elections. As the film progresses, a lady from the village fights the election representing the interests of the villagers and wins. It’s one of the conventional ways of showing how politics propagates in Indian Cinema where the vulnerable and the victims are often from a minority group and a hero character functions as a catalyst and encourages them to fight for a better future and eventually win. This is also a way to indulge in the belief to show the victory of good over evil. It also works to challenge

the patriarchal structure of Indian society where the male character dominates, and here we see a female character rising strong against a male character. Love and romance is one of the most-well received themes of Indian cinema. Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, uses love as a theme that serves as a blanket in the context of a harsh political commentary and also takes viewer attention away from the same politics that the narrative finds itself engaged in. The film depicts subversion from the major political theme in various degrees through the relationships in the narrative. Lallan and Micheal’s stories go back and forth between crime, politics, romance and subtly merges all three genres. Their relationships do provide a breather to the viewer from the politics of the plot, but a complete shift can be felt in terms of production design, costume and the use of background score when Arjun and Meera’s story takes over the screen, thereby subverting completely from the convention of a political film. The viewer also gets a break from the red imagery and is taken into blue and cool tones. This serves as a pathway into a very different kind of life on the screen from what the viewer has been experiencing, where ‘the American Dream’ is a real possibility and a life unaffected by politics is the reality. In conclusion, in the story of Yuva, we find the tropes of love and politics running together. The lines between these two themes are not parallel and continue to merge and find identity in the portrayal and life of each character. The film being a political commentary and falling in the genre of a political thriller is not devoid of human relationships and conflicts, which becomes a driving force for the narrative to unfold and keep the viewer intrigued. As the film progresses to its conclusion, it continues to play with these themes, actively subverting it at places but in the end is able to find a balance to hold on to.

 

This analysis was part of my application for Met Film School, Berlin on how a film both uses and subverts its genre conventions.

Thanks to Harshada Patil Desai and Anubha Jain for helping me put this study into words.

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