Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

About the film

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (transl. "This Youth is Crazy"), also abbreviated as YJHD, is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Ayan Mukerji, written by Mukerji and Hussain Dalal, and produced by Karan Johar under Dharma Productions. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, and Deepika Padukone in their second film together, alongside Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani revolves around four former classmates who meet at a trekking trip where Naina Talwar, a shy medical student, falls in love with carefree brat Kabir "Bunny" Thapar but refrains from expressing her feelings. They soon drift apart but end up meeting again at mutual friend Aditi Mehra's wedding. With a production budget of ₹45 crore, the film was extensively shot in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Paris, Mumbai and Kashmir from March 2012 to January 2013. Pritam composed the original soundtrack and background score, in a first for a Dharma Productions film, marking his second background score project, with cinematography by V. Manikandan. Amitabh Bhattacharya primarily wrote the lyrics, with Kumaar as guest songwriter.

Plot

Naina Talwar is a shy, calm and studious medical student living in Mumbai who feels that life is passing her by due to her controlling parents, especially her mother. While grocery shopping with her mother, she runs into an old classmate, the carefree tomboy Aditi Mehra, which makes her realise that she wants more from life. She impulsively decides to go on a hiking trip to the Himalayas in Manali, mentioned by Aditi during their encounter, without informing her parents for fear that they would refuse. During the hike, she renews her friendship with Aditi and her other former classmates, the charming and ambitious Kabir "Bunny" Thapar and Avinash "Avi" Arora, as they embark on various treks and adventures. Bunny is a charmer whose dream is to travel and discover the world; he has no interest in settling down. Avi is a playboy interested only in alcohol, women and betting.

During the trek, Naina and Bunny grow close, and she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, Aditi becomes jealous when Avi flirts with another trekker. Bunny and Naina realise that Aditi has feelings for Avi, but Avi does not reciprocate them. At the end of the trip, Avi discovers that Bunny has been accepted into the school of journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago and reveals to the rest of the group that he is leaving India in three weeks. Although Avi is upset by the news, Aditi tells him that Bunny should go, explaining that they are all growing up and that it is time to become adults. Naina realises that love and marriage have no place in Bunny's plans and remains silent about her feelings.

Eight years later, Naina has finished medical school and is now working at a clinic. Avi is running a bar that requires expensive renovations. Bunny works as a videographer for a travel show, living in Paris and travelling the world while leading a carefree life. With the show coming to an end, he receives an offer to become the host of a new travel programme, which he accepts. As he moves around too frequently to be reached by post, he receives a virtual wedding invitation from Aditi; she is marrying a nerdy but wealthy engineer, Taran Khanna. Bunny travels to Udaipur for her destination wedding. While Aditi and Naina are excited to see him, Avi is angry because Bunny never bothered to stay in touch after leaving. During their conversations, it is revealed that Bunny's father, Sanjay, died while Bunny was away. Bunny and Avi get into an argument, with Avi upset over Bunny's lack of effort in maintaining their friendship, while Bunny accuses Avi of being stuck in the past and becoming a loser burdened with gambling debts and a drinking problem. They begin physically fighting, but Aditi intervenes and forces them to apologise. Bunny also confronts Avi about the renovation of the bar and offers him money, but Avi refuses, saying that he would be happy if Bunny simply shared a drink with him. They reconcile on the dance floor during a subsequent celebration.

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 UTV Motion Pictures and written by Hussain Dalal based on a story by Ayan Mukerji. 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 the first time to compose the music for a Dharma Productions film, steering away from the usual Vishal–Shekhar and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, who had previously scored Mukerji's directorial debut, Wake Up Sid (2009).

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 (2009). Kapoor played Kabir and also pierced his ears for his role. There was a lot of speculation as to who would play the female lead, with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma being the initial choices. Eventually, Deepika Padukone was chosen as Naina, in September 2011, who due to her faith in Kapoor and Mukerji accepted the film "without even reading the script". The film also marked Kapoor and Padukone's second film together after Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

Key details