Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Plot

Naina Talwar (Deepika Padukone) is a shy and nerdy medical student. She studies constantly and always tops her classes, but she feels like an outcast due to her introverted nature. An encounter with an old classmate, Aditi Mehra (Kalki Koechlin), makes her realize that she wants more from life than high marks. Thus, she makes an impulsive decision to follow Aditi on a hiking trip into the Himalayas, up to Manali without informing anyone. During the hike, she renews her friendship with other former classmates, Kabir "Bunny" Thapar (Ranbir Kapoor) and Avinash "Avi" Arora (Aditya Roy Kapur). Kabir is a handsome charmer whose dream is to wander and discover the world. He does not plan to marry or settle down. He lives with his supporting father whom he loves very much, and his step-mother. During their trip, seeing Aditi's silent reactions to Avi's constant flirting with other girls, Kabir and Naina realize that she is secretly in love with Avi, but do not bring the matter to surface.

In the course of the mountain trek, Kabir and Naina come closer to each other. Kabir teaches Naina to laugh, to play, and more importantly, to love. At the end of the trip, she is close to telling him that she is in love with him, but is interrupted by Avi. He accidentally finds a letter accepting Kabir into a graduate school in journalism, at Northwestern University in Chicago. Kabir explains that the trip is his last hometown adventure before he leaves. He is sad to leave his friends but happy to start a career that will lead to travelling, which he dreams of, and thus wanted to bring them along to Manali to give them a surprise. Naina realises that love and marriage have no part in Kabir's plans and remains silent about her feelings but is happy for him as he is following his passion.

Eight years pass with Naina finishing medical school and working in a clinic while Kabir works as a videographer for a travel show on FOX network and travels the world, as he had planned. It is shown that Kabir's father has died and due to Kabir's job in remote areas, he was not able to attend his last rites. Naina has moved ahead in life and is not waiting to meet Kabir, but they meet in Udaipur, for Aditi's lavish wedding to Taran (Kunaal Roy Kapur), an awkward but sweet engineer. At the wedding, Kabir and Avi renew their lost friendship.

Naina and Kabir are strongly attracted to each other again. Both resist love – Kabir, because he is not able to figure out that he is in love with Naina and Naina, as she doesn't want to get her heart broken again. A day before the wedding, Kabir sees Naina with another man, Vikram (Rana Daggubati), who is the wedding photographer. He is Naina's friend, but Kabir assumes him to be her boyfriend, feels jealous and argues with him, finally sending him away. Kabir and Naina meet, argue, and reveal their feelings by a kiss. Yet neither of them is willing to give up a career to follow the other. It seems that their romance is over. Kabir also confronts Aditi on her past crush on Avi. She admits that she had feelings for Avi but says that she has gotten over him and is extremely happy with Taran. Kabir leaves for home on the night of Aditi's wedding and will leave for Paris three weeks later for his dream job as a travel show host. On New Year's Eve, as Naina sits alone at home along with her dog, someone knocks on her door and it's Kabir. He surprises her with a kiss. He has turned down his dream job to be with Naina and proposes to her, but Naina fears that he might regret his decision in the future. However, Kabir says that he is happy with Naina and wants to continue travelling but with her. He argues that somehow they can make a life together. Naina agrees. Kabir and Naina then get engaged and finally declare their love properly for one another. They have a conference call between Aditi and Avi. Avi is at his bar which is successfuly running and Aditi is at the airport as a newlywed leaving for her honeymoon to Venice with Taran. The friends find out about Kabir and Naina and are overwhelmed. Aditi states that she always kind of knew about the sparks between them. They all wish each other a Happy New Year and the film ends with Kabir and Naina smiling and embracing each other.

Cast

Production

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions. It was co-produced by Apoorva Mehta and written by Hussain Dalal based on a story by Ayan Mukherjee. The title was taken from a hit song by the same title, with music by R. D. Burman from the film Jawani Diwani (1972). In December 2011, Pritam was chosen for first time to do the music for a Dharma Productions film, steering away from the usual Vishal-Shekhar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who had previous scored director Ayan Mukherjee's debut, Wake Up Sid (2009).

Filming

Shooting locations included Hidimba Temple, Gulaba, Banjaar, Hamta, and Naggar. Some shots were taken at 14,000 feet above sea level and the crew shot at a temperature as low as −10 degrees Celsius. In May 2012, the cast filmed in Udaipur, where Kapoor and Padukone also shot a romantic song.

The unit experienced a difficult shoot in Rajasthan due to the overwhelming heat. Filming also took place in August 2012 in Paris, France on Rue Mouffetard, a street market. Other scenes were shot in Filmistan, Mumbai. On 26 January, the crew visited Kashmir to shoot a musical sequence and other scenes. They filmed in locations such as Kongdori in Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar.

Casting

Ranbir Kapoor was the first to sign onto the film and was under Ayan Mukerji's direction for the second time following Wake Up Sid. Kapoor pierced his ears for his role. Deepika Padukone was chosen in September 2011, who due of her faith in Ranbir and Ayan accepted the film without even reading the script. Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki Koechlin were later signed on for pivotal roles. Koechlin and Kapur play Aditi and Avi, respectively. Evelyn Sharma had confirmed that she will play a ditzy character.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score was composed by Pritam, with lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Kumaar(Dilli Wali Girlfriend). Two songs — "Badtameez Dil", sung by Benny Dayal and Shefali Alvares, and "Balam Pichkari" sung by Vishal Dadlani and Shalmali Kholgade — were seen in the trailer. The promo video for "Badtameez Dil" was released on 5 April, the video for "Balam Pichkari" on 10 April, and the video for "Dilliwaali Girlfriend" on 25 April. The complete soundtrack was released on 29 April 2013. The "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Mash Up" was made by DJ Chetas.

Marketing

Nokia India announced its association with Dharma Productions for the film. The official trailer was released by Ayan Mukerji, Karan Johar, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone on 19 March 2013 at a press conference in Mumbai. Before its release, Ranbir Kapoor invited all of his fans to watch the trailer.

Pre-release business

Release

Preview screenings of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani were held on 30 May 2013. The film was released on 31 May 2013 worldwide and on around 3100 screens in India. The trailers of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Again, Satyagraha – Democracy Under Fire and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was attached with the film prints.

Eros distributed Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in Israel. It was subtitled in Hebrew and released on 31 May 2013. The last Bollywood film released in Israel was Devdas.

Hindu College organised a special screening of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to create a secure and safe environment for female students on 31 May 2013.

Critical reception

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani received mixed to positive reviews. Major praise was directed towards the cast, Kapoor, Padukone, and Koechlin in particular. Giving 4 out of 5 stars, Taran Adarsh of bollywoodhungama.com noted that it "is a revitalizing take on romance and relationships. A wonderful cinematic experience, this one should strike a chord with not just the youth, but cineastes of all age-groups."

Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express with a negative tone stated that, "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is a been-here, seen-this, much-too-long glossy creature, and not much else." Saibal Chaterjee of NDTV rated it 3.5/5 and opined that, "Overlong, sluggish and fluffy, it meanders through varied locations as the young lovers/friends seek to reconnect with each other after a few years of being apart." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave it 3.5/5 stars and judged, "Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani is totally worth it!" Alisha Coelho of in.com praised Kapoor's "ebullient" performance and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, concluding "If you are seeking light-hearted mush, you're looking in the right place". Ananya Bhattacharya of ZEENEWS.com said, "'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' is no heavy or preachy business. It is meant to be enjoyed and it does its job well. Apart from a few parts where the pace of the film drops badly, Ayan Mukherji's handiwork is a breezy, enjoyable one." She also gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Tushar Joshi of DNA opined, "YJHD is a well written film that should be watched for its direction, treatment and some remarkable performances."

Anupama Chopra of the Hindustan Times gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "there is enough eye-candy in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to see you through, but I wish the film had more meat and less dressing. I'm disappointed because there is a truckload of talent here. What rankles is what might have been." Raja Sen of Rediff.com noted that the film was good-looking but lacked a good story. He gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Controversies

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his displeasure over the attribution of shots in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to Manali while they were filmed in north Kashmir's Gulmarg. He stated that apart from the temple and Span resort, all scenes were shot in Gulmarg. Many scenes and song sequences of the movie were shot at locations in the Kashmir Valley including the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Karan Johar's production house later said that the opening credit slate clearly mentions Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Tourism Minister GA Mir and Inspector-General of Police SM Sahal. The names of the entire crew in Kashmir are mentioned in the film credits.

The film's television release had been stalled. The Delhi High Court on 11 June 2013 issued a ruling restraining the TV release of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani for allegedly using objectionable dialogues in context of the brand Rooh Afza.

India

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani opened strongly with around 100% occupancy at multiplexes and in the range of 60–70% at single screens where it set the biggest opening for a Ranbir Kapoor film. It holds the records for the fourth biggest opening of all time and highest for a non-holiday release after collecting ₹198.1 million (US$3.1 million) on its first day. The film remained strong on Saturday and grossed ₹205 million (US$3.2 million). It made ₹630 million (US$9.8 million) on its first weekend, breaking the 3-day weekend box office record previously held by Dabangg 2. The film remained strong on Monday and grossed the second highest ever Monday collection of ₹127.5 million (US$2.0 million). It continued its successful run on Tuesday collecting ₹117.5 million (US$1.8 million) and Wednesday collecting ₹105.0 million (US$1.6 million), which is the highest ever for any film on that day, bringing its six-day total to ₹980 million (US$15 million).

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani grossed ₹1.06 billion (US$17 million) in its first week, becoming the second fastest Bollywood film to cross ₹1 billion (US$16 million) behind Ek Tha Tiger. It grossed ₹1.75 billion (US$27 million) worldwide in the first seven days. The film made ₹282.5 million (US$4.4 million), in its second weekend, which is the second highest of all time, making its ten-day gross to ₹1.34 billion (US$21 million). It had grossed ₹450 million (US$7.0 million) in its second week, bringing its total to ₹1.52 billion (US$24 million). It also had a very good third weekend gross of ₹135 million (US$2.1 million) taking its 17 days total to ₹1.65 billion (US$26 million). It grossed ₹205 million (US$3.2 million) in its third week making its total to ₹1.73 billion (US$27 million). Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani grossed ₹1.76 billion (US$27 million) after its fourth weekend. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani added ₹65.4 million (US$1.0 million) taking its four-week total to ₹1.77 billion (US$28 million). Due to a huge reduction of shows from the fifth week, its lifetime total finished around ₹1.79 billion (US$28 million).

Overseas

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani collected around $4 million on its international opening weekend and is ranked No. 2 in 2013. The film collected $1,568,677 at the US box office, opening in at No. 9 position with an average of $9,743 from 161 theatres. It continued its successful run and netted around $7.5 million in ten days. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani grossed $8.75 million in 17 days in overseas. It grossed $9.50 million in 24 days in overseas. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani finished at $10.50 million approx.

Awards

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2013

Screen Weekly Awards 2013

Nominated

Filmfare Awards 2014