Youngistaan () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romance political film directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal. It stars Jackky Bhagnani, Neha Sharma and Farooq Sheikh The film is a love story set against the backdrop of Indian politics. It marked the posthumous appearance of Sheikh following his death on 28 December 2013.Youngistan is a film for Indian youth, says Jackky Bhagnani : Bollywood, News – India Today . Indiatoday.intoday.in (4 December 2013). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Was to shoot with Farooq today: Boman Irani – The Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (28 December 2013). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Still can’t believe Farooqueji is no more: Sangam Bahuguna – The Times of India . Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (29 December 2013). Retrieved on 10 July 2015. It was a remake of the Telugu film Leader (2010). Sheikh’s performance as Akbar Patel was notably praised.Movie review by Anupama Chopra: Youngistaan is brain-dead and insufferable. Hindustantimes.com (29 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Youngistaan movie review: Sexily sketched politics of our disembodied democracy | India | Latest India News | Get Free India.com Email | Live Cricket and Entertainment News at India.Com . India (28 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Review Roundup: ‘Youngistaan’ – India Real Time – WSJ . Blogs.wsj.com (28 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Youngistaan: Watch it for Farooque saab . The Hindu (29 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.A pleasant escape . The Asian Age (28 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

Plot

Youngistaan is a love story set against the backdrop of Indian politics. It is the story of Abhimanyu Kaul and the love of his life, Anwita Chauhan.

Abhimanyu Kaul, a young man living an ordinary life in Japan, finds himself in the political spotlight due to the sudden death of his father, the Prime Minister of India. Abhimanyu struggles to balance his complicated personal relationships with the political resistance against him from his own party. Being a public figure and reluctantly accepting to represent the governing party, much against his own wishes and at the cost of his private life, is a double-edged sword that Abhimanyu must walk on.

Although most officials considered an amateur and incapable of handling large issues by everyone except Akbar Patel, Secretary to the P.M. Abhimanyu ends up succeeding.

Cast

Jackky Bhagnani as Abhimanyu "Abhi" Kaul, a video game developer in Japan and the youngest prime minister of India Neha Sharma as Anvita Chauhan, Abhimanyu's love interest Farooq Sheikh as Akbar Patel / Akbar Uncle Prakash Belawadi as Murli Mukundan Deepankar De as Shubhodeep Ganguly popularly known as Shubho Da (president of ABKP Party, interim prime minister and later president) Brijendra Kala as an unnamed Kulfi / alcohol vendor Mita Vashisht as Suhasini Singh Deo Triveni Sangam Bahuguna as Ajay Thakur Nilesh Rai as Nilesh Kayoze Irani as Zafar, Abhimanyu's colleague in Japan (Special appearance) Boman Irani as Dashrath Kaul, Abhimanyu's late father and deceased prime minister of India (Cameo appearance) Shah Rukh Khan in an archive appearance from 2005 film Silsiilay

Production and promotion While the first schedule of the film took place in Indore, Lucknow and overseas – the second schedule was held at the Taj Mahal in Agra, where a campaign titled Yo Youngistan Go Youngistan was launched.Not just Lucknow, all of Uttar Pradesh under Bollywood spotlight – The Times of India . indiatimes.com (19 November 2013). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.Has Rahul Gandhi inspired Jackky Bhagnani? – The Times of India . Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (13 November 2013). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

The first trailer of Youngistaan was unveiled at a suburban multiplex in Mumbai on 1 February 2014.'Youngistaan' team pays tribute to late actor Farooque Shaikh – The Times of India . Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2 February 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.NDTV Movies . Movies.ndtv.com. Retrieved on 10 July 2015.'Youngistaan' team pays tribute to Farooque Shaikh – Entertainment . Mid-day.com. Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

Critical reception

Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid-Day gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating, "While the movie has a very interesting premise, it is totally diluted by lazy scriptwriting and sketchy direction."Movie Review: 'Youngistaan' – Entertainment . Mid-day.com. Retrieved on 10 July 2015. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated it 2 out of 5 stars and stated "The film, despite its efforts, becomes muddled, and dull."‘Youngistaan’ review: The film, despite its efforts, becomes muddled, and dull . The Indian Express (29 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times rated the film 1 out of 5 stars saying "Youngistaan is brain-dead and insufferable." Paloma Sharma of Rediff.com rated the film 1 out of 5 stars saying "Youngistaan neither says something new nor does it reinforce time-tested wisdom in a way that you actually want to pay attention to it."Youngistaan review: I wouldn't vote for It – Rediff.com Movies . Rediff.com (28 March 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

Box office Youngistaan opened to a "low" occupancy of 5–10% on the first day of its release across 1000 theatres in India with the other two releases of the day: Dishkiyaoon and O Teri.

According to exhibitor Rajesh Thadani, "Youngistaan raked in Rs 40 million during the first weekend."Box Office: 'Youngistan' collects Rs 4 cr – Entertainment . Mid-day.com. Retrieved on 10 July 2015. On its first Monday, the film saw a sharp decline in its gross collection earning in the range of 7.5 million, thus taking its domestic total up to a cumulative of 48.0 million at the box office.Youngistaan: 1st Monday Box Office Collections . Koimoi.com (9 February 2015). Retrieved on 10 July 2015. The film was a Box office bomb.

Music

Music was composed by Jeet Gannguli (Suno Na Sangemarmar, Suno Na Sangemarmar (Remix)), Sneha Khanwalkar (Tanki (Mika Version) and Tanki (Bhaven Version)), Shiraz Uppal (Daata Di Divaani, Mere Khuda), and Shree Isshq (Youngistaan Anthem, Youngistaan Anthem Remix) whilst the background score were composed by Salim–Sulaiman. Lyrics were penned by Sanamjeet, Syed Ahmad Afzal, Hard Kaur, Sneha Khanwalkar, Jackky Bhagnani, Kausar Munir and Sonny Ravan.

Awards and nominations Award Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref. 7th Mirchi Music Awards Lyricist of The Year Kausar Munir – "Suno Na Sangemarmar" rowspan=2 Song representing Sufi tradition "Daata Di Diwani (Qawwali)"

Sequel

The makers have announced a sequel titled Youngistaan Dobara, which would narrate the story after Abhimanyu becomes prime minister.Director, Producer plan a sequel to Youngistaan . News.biharprabha.com (15 April 2014). Retrieved on 10 July 2015.

References

External links