Yuva

Mani Ratnam's 2004 Hindi film crosses the lives of three men through a single incident on a bridge in Calcutta. One is a thug working for politicians, one a student leader trying to clean up campus politics, one a young man planning to leave the country who wants no part of anything. The film looks at that moment on the bridge from three sides and shows how politics pulls in even someone determined to stay out. Ratnam shot the same story simultaneously in Tamil with a different cast. The camera work and cutting are ambitious for the period, and A. R. Rahman's music is part of the narration. Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi carry the three lines. Who it's for: viewers who like Mani Ratnam and politically minded Indian cinema. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a straight narrative around one protagonist; the film keeps moving between three stories.