Youth Movie Review: The kids are alright

Youth Movie Review:

Exuberance. In a cynical world, exuberance is often misconstrued as hubris. It is almost as if the world doesn’t like anyone to be too excited for too long. Even the ones who are overtly excited wait for everything to come crashing down, and even if they are not, someone will point it out to them. Every exuberant young person is equated to Icarus, and everyone is cautioned not to dream anything too big. But there is a reason why exuberance is often referred to alongside ‘youth,’ and it is the phase where aspirations aren’t burdened by the realities of life lurking around the corner. It is with this confidence that Ken Karunaas has mounted his directorial debut, Youth, which doesn’t fly too close to the sun, but enjoys just being air-borne for as long as its flailing wings allow it to be. 

When we first meet Praveen (Ken), he has just finished Class X, and over the next 140-odd minutes, we see him finish Class XII and fall in love not just once or twice, but thrice. He has an innocent and doting mother (Devadarshini), who believes her son can do no wrong, and no points for guessing how the tables turn. He has a strict father (Suraj Venjaramoodu), who believes his son is turning out to be a wastrel of epic proportions, and no points for guessing how the tables turn. And through these turned tables, and a few broken ones, Ken dishes out a generic coming-of-age tale about a boy who realises what it means to grow up. 

With a younger crop of actors coming to the fore, it is no surprise that we will witness an assembly line of films about school and college life. It is a template that was wonderfully showcased by the likes of Silambarasan TR and Dhanush, and the baton has now been handed to Ken and Co. We will see boys turn into men, but since the political climate around film discourse has changed a lot since the times of Simbu and Dhanush, these films won’t just be mindless entertainers. It will have a ‘message’ that will try to push all the missteps under the blanket, and leave you with a sense of ‘But they meant well.’ We saw it happen in Sivakarthikeyan’s Don, and in many ways, Ken’s Youth is no different. 

While the film is obviously about Praveen, Ken ensures that the focus is not just on him. His friends aren’t the generic kind who exist to say ‘yes’ to all of Praveen’s whims and elevate him into some sort of school superhero. Here, they call him out when he is wrong and keep him in check when his intentions are sketchy. They hear him out when he is emotional, stand by him when required, and yet have their own problems. Unlike the recent school-based romcom With Love, Youth isn’t interested in showing the girls’ perspectives on their crushes, infatuations, and love. This means that the girls in the world of Youth — Preshika (a lovely Meenakshi Dinesh), Sonal (a firebrand Priyanshi Yadav), and Kanagavalli (an effective Anshima Anilkumar) — are seen only from Praveen’s perspective. And this could have put the film at a disadvantage, but the writing gives them three clear-cut arcs, and all three actors are wonderfully competent. If Meenakshi dials up her cuteness to showcase Preshika with a lot of pretty dignity, Priyanshi brings a brashness that suits the character’s machinations. Anishma walks a tightrope to ensure her Kanaga is loved and respected, not reviled. Full points to her, and to the writing, to ensure none of the girls, and even the boys in the film, end up as one-note, caricaturish, or even as antagonists. 

Director: Ken Karunaas

Cast: Ken Karunaas, Anshima Anilkumar, Meenakshi Dinesh, Devadarshini, Suraj Venjaramoodu

In fact, Youth is irreverent and politically incorrect, but it also treats the school kids as… school kids. It is a fair representation of school life where irreverence and rebellion are par for the course. Of course, this also means certain scenes aren’t cohesive, as they exist only to tick a few social media boxes. And there are a few other scenes that fall flat simply because the emotions don’t feel sustained. Also, even though the film is set in 2014-15, the time period doesn’t add much to Youth, and in some places, actually makes you question the authenticity of certain convenient writing choices. 

While GV Prakash Kumar’s score and songs were on point and did exactly what was required, the film did have one song too many. It felt like an easy way out rather than allowing the scenes to explore the emotions of the various characters. Cinematographer Viki also ensures we see Chennai in a familiar light. Still, since the film is limited to a few spots, he works within those constraints by avoiding similar frames. 

In Youth, Ken gets most things right and shines as a director, especially in the way he has extracted performances. While the kids are all right in this film, it is Suraj and Devadarshini who really steal the show in the last act with their restraint and subtlety. These portions also work in favour of Youth because it, rightfully, forgets that the film is a star vehicle. As we walk out of the theatres, we are given a chance to reminisce on our own school lives that were filled with random conversations, first brushes with love, issues that meant the world back then, and of course, heartbreaks. But just as most of us look at our own past with rose-tinted glasses, we can extend the same to Youth simply because we know that the outside world won’t be easy for these kids, and for now… let them have this.