Review of Yuvvraaj (2008) by Pooja K — 24 Nov 2008

Watching Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj is like watching a grand three hour symphony orchestrated by Mr. Ghai, A.R Rehman and the rest of Mr. Ghai's technicians. The film is presented as a musical and that is exactly what it is.

It is Grand, exceptionally Classy, Visually beautiful, the cinematography is splendid, but unfortunately I can't say the same about the characterization. Where is the intense drama that Mr. Ghai is famous for (Kalicharan, Karz, Ram Lakhan, Saudagar, Hero, Khal Nayak, Pardes, etc.

)?. The intensity of his characters has disappeared post Pardes (Taal, Yaadein, Yuvvraaj). Seems like ever since Mr. Ghai started writing dialogs and editing his films his direction has weakened. Although, I did enjoy watching Yuvvraaj, it has been mounted on a grand scale and is such a visual treat that you tend to ignore the weak script and characterization along with mediocre dialogs.

Performance wise, Salman does a good job in parts. His character required lot of intensity and he has always lacked in that department. The less I talk about Zayed Khan's acting abilities the better.

Surprisingly, Katrina does a very good job and is very likable, she has truly grown as an actress and she looks stunning in this film. As expected, Anil Kapoor towers above everyone else, he should be ranked amongst the best actors in the history of Indian cinema when he decides to hang his boots.

A request to Mr. Ghai, I still think he is one of the finest filmmakers in the country (and my all time favourite director) but please let the dialog writers and editors to their job so you can concentrate on direction and bring back the intensity and drama back to your films.

If you are looking for a visual treat with fantastic music, watch Yuvvraaj and ignore its flaws.