8 Years of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani: What brought Kabir and Naina together?

A still from `Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani`, Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives

Back in 1973, when Amitabh Bachchan starred in Prakash Mehra's 'Zanjeer', his fiery performance led to the birth of ‘The Angry Young Man.' This anger continued with films like 'Deewar', 'Trishul', and 'Kaala Patthar'. The legacy was carried forward by Sunny Deol in the 90s with 'Ghayal', 'Damini, Ghatak', 'Ziddi', and 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'.

From 2009 onwards, a certain actor called Ranbir Kapoor began to channel his man-child demeanour who refuses to grow up and is perpetually lost in his own world. It takes someone to guide him and show him some light. In many ways, he could be called- 'The Lost Young Man'. This is one genre he has mastered in, with names like 'Wake Up Sid', 'Rockstar', and 'Tamasha'. In all three of them, a woman became his symbol of strength and success.

There's a fourth name too- Ayan Mukerji's 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'. Unlike this duo's first film together, the protagonist's aim was clear, he's a globetrotter who wishes to run, fly, fall but never stop. He wishes his life to hinge on adrenaline so that he can hear his heartbeat everyday. Many would label him selfish and heartless, and his friend Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur) even does in a scene where he unleashes years of bottled-down agony.

The other side of the story belongs to Naina (Deepika Padukone), a bespectacled meek geek (although one wonders why someone needs glasses to establish someone as a geek even in 2013). She chances upon a life-altering trip to Manali where she meets our hero, Kabir aka Bunny. Obviously, love has to follow, albeit one- sided. Bunny's infectious energy has transformed Naina into another soul and the first thing you expect is her glasses to come off, and surely they do.

But she knows it's futile to confess since he places his career over everyone and everything else, even his parents. The second half of 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' is an eye-opener for Bunny. When he spends some moments with Naina, she instills some life lessons about being in the moment and the vitality of relationships. At home, his father (the endearing and effective Farooq Shaikh) wishes his son seizes all the dreams he aspires for.

There aren't too many love stories where either of the lead pair hasn't reciprocated someone's love in the end, and Bunny does too. It's clear his free-spirited nature draws Naina towards him. And we begin to sense he too loves her when he sees her with someone else. This questionable sense of wrongful ownership is a clear indication of insecurity that one feels in love. But what makes Bunny eventually fall in love with Naina?

Is it the fact that she grounds him? Is it because she understands life and his dreams better than he does? Or is it simply because he ultimately had to one day? Mukerji fills the film and the central character with too many questions. Someone who walks away in callousness, disappears for eight years and doesn't even bother to check on his friends reforms due to love is a narrative not too many would buy, but those who are suckers for love stories applaud and even weep.

When Bunny and Naina are finally reunited in the end, we know both of them will undergo major metamorphosis. Naina will get to travel and finally live the way she yearned. Bunny knows he may have to control his adrenaline-junkie attitude and mellow. The hero was finally awakened in Kapoor's other films as well- Sid finally woke up, JJ finally became a Rockstar, Ved began to do Tamasha on stage. So why is this film called 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'? Was it because all of Mukerji's lead actors were a little younger when it came out?

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