Yugpurush: A Man Who Comes Just Once in a Way

Now-a-days when Shahrukh Khan's acting in My Name is Khan is talk of the tinsel town and a hot topic for the moviegoers and the movie-reviewers alike, it is quite natural to refresh the nostalgic memories of Nana Patekar's performance in an almost forgotten movie Yugpurush that got released in 1998. The difference in the characters played by SRK and Nana Patekar is that while SRK is a patient of Asperger's Syndrome since birth in MNIK, Nana Patekar is an asylum-released mental patient (catatonic) in Yugpurush. The similarity is that both the characters are childlike innocent in their attitude and behaviour and that's why simply lovable. Doing no injustice to SRK for his commendable job in MNIK, it will not be inappropriate to rate Nana's performance as Aniruddh in Yugpurush is a nothing short of a lesson in acting.

Yugpurush was directed by Partho Ghosh who is definitely not a legend but he had carved a niche for himself in the nineties through movies like 100 Days and Agnisaakshi. Yugpurush flopped on the box office and got brushed aside by the elite reviewers too under the accusation that it gave preference to the love-triangle aspect of the story over the childlike innocent character of Nana Patekar alongwith his experience in the real world outside the asylum, his impact upon others (and others' impact upon him) and his overall presence in the plot (which could have established him as 'Yugpurush' and justified the title of the story). However it can be considered a classic now.

In Yugpurush, Aniruddh gets released from asylum at the age of 36 years after spending a quarter of a century behind its closed doors. Doctors declare him completely cured and a normal human-being fit to live in the society. He comes in contact with police in the course of saving the life of a child in a riot, Sunita who is the keep of a corrupt politician, Paresh; Ranjan, a spoiled millionaire youth and the family of his mentor, Mohan who is having an eye on Aniruddh's ancestral property. He starts loving Sunita and a lovelorn Sunita, finding herself among greedy and narrow-minded people, too falls prey to the childlike innocence of Aniruddh. Mohan's kind-hearted daughter, Deepti also is in love with Aniruddh. However things take turn with the fact that Ranjan too tries to get Sunita with the help of his filthy richness. Though he had befriended Aniruddh, the beauty of Sunita overpowers his friendly feelings towards Aniruddh. The fact Ranjan could not understand that money can buy only a woman's body, not her heart and sentiments. Sunita runs away from Ranjan (despite having committed to live with him in lieu of money) and goes to Aniruddh whose love for her cannot be measured on any scale. The jealousy and the sense of defeat in Ranjan leads to the climax of the story in which the asylum's doctor who had treated Aniruddh is compelled to tell the relevant people that his toil of 25 years has been undone within a few months.

Yugpurush is by all means Nana's movie only. He has given several marvellous performances in several movies playing different kinds of roles. But his portrayal of Aniruddh in Yugpurush is, in my opinion, is his hitherto best ever performance for which he quite unjustifiably did not get any award. Jackie Shroff as Ranjan, Mohan Joshi as Mohan, Shivaji Satam as Paresh etc. among others have done full justice to their characters. But special mention is needed for the female leads. Ashwini Bhave as Deepti has simply startled with her natural performance. Her overall expressions and particularly the emotions expressed in the climax are simply superb. But it is Manisha Koirala who steals the show as Sunita with her sparkling beauty having shadows of her internal gloom and portrayal of her conflict between practical life with Ranjan and emotions for Aniruddh. As a woman torn between love and money, Manisha simply rocks.

Partho Ghosh has given a sensitive treatment to the story and done justice to it in major parts, if not fully. The story loses its way in post-interval part when the triangular relationship of Aniruddh, Sunita and Ranjan just becomes too much and becomes too heavy for the viewers sending them craving for some relief that they do not get till the end of the movie. But overall the impact of the movie remains with the viewer for a long time after it is over. The scenes of Aniruddh signing the property papers in favour of Mohan without any thought, making Mohan move to the extent of tearing them himself and Aniruddh's saying to Sunita - 'Paise nahi hain mere paas; main pyar de sakta hun, samman de sakta hun' (I don't have money, I can only give you love and respect) leave a deep-seated impact upon the viewer. The movie strongly underscores the point that a person can be good till he is a child (by age or by heart) and the bad elements creep in the personality with the contact of so-called practical life and people.

The music is not great but not bad either. Cinematography and art direction are good. Editing could have been better. Screenplay could have been more innovative and gripping. Director Partho Ghosh could have tried to be a bit more creative while dealing with this unorthodox script making the movie more gripping and entertaining.

All fans of Nana Patekar should watch this movie and the people who have liked MNIK (with Shahrukh's acting as Rizwan Khan) too. It is a well-intentioned movie containing many plus-points for sensitive audience. If you want to see and understand the complexities of human psyche, do watch it.

Yugpurush is a universal picture of love and human relationships. It is a poignant, intelligent and crafted film about a man who is mentally disturbed yet widely loved and respected by normal people because of his simplicity, intelligence, positivity and love for the mankind. This man is called Anirudh, and he is played to perfection by Nana Patekar. As a child Anirudh was traumatised as a result of his parents' death, and now he has been released from the mental asylum after a long treatment. The film follows his experiences with people, the way he communicates with them and witnesses their personal troubles. The film presents three main characters through Anirudh: Ranjan (Jackie Shroff), a possessive and cruel man, Sunita (Manisha Koirala), a rich yet unhappy woman, and Deepti (Ashwini Bhave), a kind young woman. Their personalities are characterised in a rather dark way in comparison to Anirudh's bright and loving attitude. Sunita finds a real friend in Anirudh, and Deepti truly falls in love with him. This may seem quite odd given he is not a normal person, yet it is very believable throughout the film because it is a character that anyone would love. Anyone would want to have a brother, a father, an uncle, a husband, and particularly a friend like Anirudh.

The film's biggest strengths are the well-written dialogues which are fascinating and Nana Patekar's exceptional performance. And these two aspects are brought together very well. The dialogues are so poetic and brilliant that several lines can be easily considered as memorable sayings, particularly those mouthed by Nana Patekar. Patekar's portrayal of Anirudh is extraordinary. His restrained body language, quiet mannerisms and superb line delivery create a lovable, ultra-sympathetic character. The rest of the cast is good, though not as memorable. Manisha Koirala is fantastic. Note the wonderful scene when she publicly auctions herself. Jackie Shroff is very effective and plays his ambiguous part exceedingly well, while Ashwini Bhave is lovely in a compelling portrayal.

The title, "Yugpurush: A Man Who Comes Just Once in a Way" perfectly represents the film's main concept. It is the best way to describe Anirudh. At some point we too understand that he is too good for the "sane" world. The ending is saddening and shocking. The entire film is full of unforgettable scenes and moments. It is a film with a message, and every viewer is free to interpret it the way he wants to. All in all, this film is surely an underrated piece. It may not be very realistic, it may not be a brilliantly made film in terms of film-making, but it is a classic example of artistic excellence.

I have seen this movie after almost 26 years of its release. I was amazed to learn that this was a flop movie...really😡. I have watched almost every high rated bollywood movie and "yugpurush" is one of the most captivating movie among them. I feel sad for Nana that such a stunning performance remained unnoticed. Trio of Nana, Jackie and manisha did a great job and all of them are impeccable in every aspect. Films like yugpurush and wajood proved how great an acter Nana is. Its very injustice not only for Nana but for audience as well that he was not given role/films of his calibre. He should have been given more chances...

Yugpurush is one of the more memorable films to emerge from Bollywood in the last decade. In a decade saturated with candy floss love stories, song-laden Hindu Family Values movies, and dozens upon dozens of lesser (and lesser) remakes of Hollywood films, Yugpurush was one of the standouts from 1997, a year notable for memorable films like 'Virasat, 'Judaai' and '1947'.

The story revolves around four characters: Anirudh (Nana Patekar), a simple and guileless man who has recently been discharged from the mental institution in which he has spent virtually all of his life, Ranjan (Jackie Shroff) a violent and possessive man who admires and resents Anirudh's innocence, Sunita (Manisha Koirala) a spoiled and self-loathing kept woman who finds life unbearable, and Deepti (Ashwini Bhave) a kind and gentle creature who loves Anirudh unconditionally, but not without complaint.

The film is structured as a love story and as a character study. Each of the four protagonists is carefully etched and sufficiently developed. Nana Patekar is absolutely phenomenal as Anirudh. His manner, mannerisms, and tone are perfect, and he delivers one of the best performances of his career. Jackie Shroff is well suited to his part, displaying full control of hate, jealousy, love and resentment that burden Ranjan. Ashwini Bhave is also perfectly cast as Deepti, a simple and lovely women who becomes bound with a man unlike any other. Manisha Koirala's performance wavers as Sunita: in a part written for Sridevi, Manisha is astonishing in the later portions when Sunita comes to terms with her fate, but less at ease playing the bitchy, shrewish moments that frankly Sridevi could have pulled off in her sleep. Manisha is perhaps too innocent an actress to enact some of the earlier scenes: instead of coming off as cold and diabolic, she is merely loud and falters. Sunita seems to be an extension of Sridevi's Hell Queen in Laadla, and no doubt she would have walked away with the film had she stayed on. Manisha herself has said in MOVIE in 1996: "I would have died to see Sridevi do these (Yugpurush) scenes." It would have been incredible to see Sridevi in the scene where Sunita auctions herself off to Ranjan.

The film is very well-written with none of the typical Bollywood clichés, though it could do without most of the songs, none of which are particularly memorable. The ending is a complete surprise, one that will leave a knot in your chest and a lump in your throat. Do see Yugpurush: a film that comes along once in a while!

In the days when cinema was at the best known for it's nonsense, running around trees in the late 90's Partho Ghosh after the hit AGNISAKSHI(1996) returned with the same cast jackie, Nana and Manisha

The film is well made by Partho Ghosh

The film showcases human psyche and the film is brilliantly narrated and directed

There is not much running around trees and also the characters are well written

There are several brilliant scenes like the climax and many more featuring Nana

Direction by Partho Ghosh is brilliant Music is okay

Jackie is good in his role, in fact he has a meatier part then in AGNISAKSHI and he does full justice to it Strangely it's a role reversal from AGNISAKSHI(where Nana played the villain here Jackie is the villain) He leaves a huge impact in the last scene too Manisha Koirala is good in her part Nana is the scene stealer, the actor showcases his infinite range People accusing him of repeating himself should watch this film He plays a mentally unstable character with such flawlessness that he strikes you Ashvini Bhave is good in her part while Shivaji Satham is decent Mohan Joshi is okay