Yuva ( Youth) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language political action film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Aaytha Ezhuthu, and it is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a scholar from Osmania University of Hyderabad. The film tells the stories of three young men from completely different strata of society and how one fateful incident on Kolkata's Howrah Bridge changes their lives forever. The narrative of the story is partially in hyperlink format. At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Yuva received 7 nominations, including Best Villain, and won a leading 6 awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Supporting Actor (Bachchan) and Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji). Yuva was also a breakthrough for Bachchan as he won the Stardust Award for Actor of the Year – Male for his performance. Background The film is set in Kolkata. Michael (Ajay Devgn), Arjun (Vivek Oberoi), Vishnu (Karthik Kumar) and Trilok (Abhinav Kashyap) are leaders of a student organisation who want to remove the corruption involved in politics. However, their lives take an unexpected turn when Lallan Singh (Abhishek Bachchan), a goon working for ruthless politician Prosenjit Bhattacharya (Om Puri), tries to eliminate them. Plot The film begins with Lallan Singh (Abhishek Bachchan) shooting Michael "Mike" Mukherjee (Ajay Devgn) on his bike, resulting in him falling off the Vidyasagar Setu into the water below which is witnessed by Arjun Balachandran (Vivek Oberoi). The flashback of the characters prior to the incident then unveils. Lallan is a goon, originally from Bihar but settled in Kolkata, West Bengal because his brother Gopal Singh (Sonu Sood) has left him alone and he had no option of earning back home. He loves, marries and abuses his wife, Shashi Biswas (Rani Mukerji). He gets into a contract under Gopal's recommendation to run errands and work as a hitman for Prosenjit Bhattacharya (Om Puri), a politician. Michael is an influential student leader who wants politicians like Prosenjit to keep away from college elections. His closest associates are his best friends Vishnu (Karthik Kumar) and Trilok (Abhinav Kashyap). Among the two, Vishnu acts as a right-hand man to Michael. Michael, in his personal life, is in love with his neighbour Radhika (Esha Deol) who lives with her uncle and aunt. Prosenjit is worried when he hears news of students standing in the election. He uses every possible way to get them out of politics.