There is something common between Jackky Bhagnani and the character he plays in ‘Youngistaan’ – one became an actor because of his father and the other becomes the Prime Minister of India for the same reason. Rich dad Vashu Bhagnani produces a movie for his darling son almost every year now and he continues trying to re-launch him in spite of all the flops (one did average business to give him his due); his son shamelessly acts in all of them. ‘Youngistaan’ is yet another attempt by Bhagnani to showcase his son as an actor. But well… this one works to an extent.
All is cool for Abhimanyu (Jackky Bhagnani), a happy-go-lucky carefree 28-year-old guy living with his girl-friend (Neha Sharma) in Japan. Life goes topsy-turvy when his father (Boman Irani) succumbs to cancer. His father was the Prime Minister of India. A reluctant Abhimanyu becomes India’s youngest PM when the party proposes his name. Anwita (Neha Sharma) is against his decision at first because all the two of them wanted was a fun-filled life. Our PM continues to live in with his girl and now has a tough task of balancing his personal life with his new job – serving the nation and bringing about a change.
Debutante Director Syed Ahmad Afzal doesn’t make a bad film but ‘Youngistaan’ is too short-sighted in approach. It works better as a love story with politics as a backdrop than a 
movie that tries to make politics look cool and relatable with the youth. There are scenes which stand out. So, a muddled young ‘good boy’ (as he is called by a fellow party-member and then nicknamed by the country) asks the RAW Chief why his photos are being deleted from his Facebook account all of a sudden. A lover-boy and his live-in girl-friend in a circumstance as this do provide some genuine laughs. Picture a PM on a date and his body-guards have to be with him. The director does raise some pertinent issues but the one that you might want to ponder about has nothing really to do with the political scenario. A live-in relationship and premarital pregnancy are treated with maturity; when the PM’s personal life becomes a fodder for gossip and the country is mostly against it, he does not at all blame his girl. ‘Youngistaan’ does remind one of ‘Nayak’ but both the movie and the lead performance (Anil Kapoor) had a lot more impact on the viewers. This one is engaging for most parts but goes nowhere really, except that a son makes his dead father proud by trying to bring about a change as the next PM. It is but obvious that Bhagnani wanted his son to dominate the screen and lo, he is in every frame. His speech at the U.N. is nicely done and though bringing out a change by involving the youth of the country is a noble thought, there aren’t really many ideas as to how. Music is quite nice. ‘Suno Na Sangemarmar’ is the pick and you will hum it after the show (that’s rare these days).
Surprise! Jackky Bhagnani can act! He delivers a very sincere performance and while you can’t call it great, he should be noticed in ‘Youngistaan’. Neha Sharma looks sweet but her character is a little irritating; she does well in a few scenes. The movie belongs to Late Farooque Shaikh as much as it belongs to the leads. He played the secretary to the PM and played it like he did in most of his films – simple and effortless. Boman Irani is in a cameo. The supporting cast doesn’t get scope.
Watch it or not: The youth should enjoy it. I did; and then realized it is a pointless film.
At the Box-Office: ‘Queen’ and ‘Ragini MMS 2’ will continue to dominate. All the three releases this week will flop. This one will still do a little better. ‘Dishkiyaoon’ and ‘O Teri’ will be disasters.
My Verdict
My Rating
Jackky Bhagnani should watch ‘Youngistaan’ all by himself on a quiet evening, realize he can act now, stop wasting his father’s money and try to bag movies. 2.5 plus an extra half for the fresh concept.
