Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Through the Prism of Time

There is a beautiful dialogue in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. After narrating the flashback story where Naina (Deepika Padukone) fell in love with Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor), she says, "Aath saal beet gaye hain, usne mudke nahi dekha aur maine intezaar bhi nahi kiya." It has been eight years. He did not look back, and she did not wait for him as well. This particular line has stayed with me. It has a tinge of sadness, but at the same time, it also has a bit of selfishness to move on in life. This scene also contrasts nicely with one of the deleted scenes from the film where the travel guide tells them about the legend of the Bhutha Parbat. A young prince met and fell in love with a beautiful girl when he visited the temple at the top of the Bhutha Parbat. Later, the prince had to choose between war and love, and he chose war. He wanted to take the girl with him, but he could not. Thirty years later, the prince, who had become a famous king, visited the same temple. He saw that the girl was still there, waiting for him. While he had become old, the girl remained young and still in love with him.

"Us ladki pe waqt beetne ka koi nishaan hi nahi tha," says the travel guide. The girl showed no sign that the time had passed by her. Waqt or time is one of the recurring themes of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and becomes the guiding principle for Bunny and Naina to make crucial decisions in their life. Throughout the film, there are references to waqt. On the boat cruise on the Seine in Paris, Bunny looks towards the evening sky. His friend Ria (Poorna Jagannathan) asks him what he is looking at. A philosophical Bunny replies, "Waqt ko guzarte." He is seeing the time that is passing by him. This scene is one of the initial moments directly mentioning waqt which gives a sense of its significance in the latter portions.

Bunny receives the invitation from Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) for her wedding. He decides to go to India for his friend's wedding and surprises everyone by dancing at the cocktail party. After the party, Naina is sitting with her feet in the water. Bunny sits by her side but is taken aback by the cool temperature of the water. He avoids putting his feet in the water but Naina tells him, "Kuch der mein theek ho jayega." It will get better in a while. Bunny puts his feet in the water. Then, they start talking with each other. He tells her was she always this pretty or did she get pretty with time. "Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam," he sings flirtatiously the line from Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959). After a few minutes of chatting, she asks him how he is feeling in the water. He said that it feels nice and comfortable. She tells him, "Maine kaha than na. Kuch waqt do, sab theek ho jayega." Give it some time and it will get better.

Later in the film, Bunny suspects that Aditi and her fiancé Taran (Kunal Roy Kapur) fight because Taran is jealous of Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur). Bunny asks Aditi her reasons for marrying Taran. Aditi corrects him that Taran was not jealous of Avi; instead, he stopped her from insulting Avi. She wanted to talk to Avi as he had already spent lakhs of rupees in just two days. Bunny further probes her if she is not in love with Avi anymore. She said that she was always alone in that relationship; Avi was never there. Before meeting Taran, she was all fine, but after meeting him, she realized that she could be happy, too. She adds, "Kuch logon ke saath sirf waqt beetane se sab kuch sahi ho jata hai." With certain people, things seem better just by spending time with them. It is precisely the same underlying sentiment that Naina expressed when she told Bunny that things get better with time.

Now, after the conversation with Aditi, Bunny goes to talk to Naina again. She is sitting by the poolside with a friend Vikram (Rana Dagubatti). Bunny believes that Vikram is trying to flirt with Naina and asks him to leave. An argument ensues between the two while Naina tries to pacify them. Later, Bunny wonders if Vikram is the same guy who was texting her. Bunny thought Naina only drank when she was with him. Naina asks why he is bothered with her life. Bunny tells her, "Main chahta hun tum apna saara waqt mere saath bitayo." He wants Naina to spend all her time with him. Naina replies, "Main tumhare saath aur waqt nahi bita nahi sakti." She cannot spend more time with him. If she spends even two more minutes with him, she will fall in love with him again, and he will not fall in love with her again.

A few moments later, Bunny is sitting with some friends and singing a few lines of the song Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein from Yash Chopra's Kabhi Kabhie (1976). Naina comes along, embraces him, and tries to forge a plan with Bunny for their future together. But, they both know they want different things from life. She, therefore, suggests that they should forget each other and move on in life. Bunny, however, does not want to let her go from his arms as he feels nice there. "Paanch minute. Please paanch second," he begs Naina. He keeps asking for some more time—a few more minutes, a few more seconds—from her because that is the place where life seems sorted out in those moments. Aditi's words seem to ring true again for Bunny. Kuch logon ke saath sirf waqt beetane se sab kuch sahi ho jata hai. Naina is that person for Bunny. Later during the song Kabira, Bunny is sitting alone with his feet in the water, again reminiscent of the scene earlier with Naina. Kuch waqt do, sab theek ho jayega.

A tearful Bunny leaves after the wedding festivities end. He is sitting at the airport, but he does not take the flight. He goes to his home. He remembers his father. His stepmother comes and hugs him. He talks to her and tells her that he is tired of running. And, then adds, "Maine waqt ki izzat nahi ki aur Papa chale gaye." He never respected time, and his father passed away. He again brings up time. He further adds that he wishes that he could tell his father that how much he loved him.

Something changes in Bunny. He goes to Naina's home to spend New Year's Eve with her. He proposes to her for marriage. She asks about his dreams to travel the world. He says, "Har cheez ka ek waqt hota hai." There is a right time for everything and now it is the right time for him to get married. Naina is still apprehensive of his intentions. She asks him if he would be able to live with her. As expected, Bunny again brings up time. "Waqt kisi ke liye nahi rukta. Beetata waqt hai, lekin kharch hum hote hain. Aur isse pehle ki main pura kharch ho jaun, tere saath kuch waqt kuch beetana chahta hun." Time waits for no one. It flies past us, and we get left behind. Before Bunny gets left too far behind, he wants to spend some time with Naina. His decision is impacted by the regret of not being able to say goodbye to his father. He has the same fear that he will lose Naina. He wants to spend more time with her because everything feels alright with her. He sees a future with her. In his mind, he has already married her. If he wants to travel, they can travel together.

Thus, we saw how time plays a part of its own and makes its presence felt throughout Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. If Naina and Bunny decide to get married, I suspect they would have many challenges initially. There will be conflicts related to time, but I believe it might work out for them with time. Because as Naina said, "Kuch waqt do, sab theek ho jayega." Give it some time and it will get better.

Other Reading:

1) More Love for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani—Link

2) Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani—Link

Dialogue of the Day:
"Waqt kisi ke liye nahi rukta. Beetata waqt hai, lekin kharch hum hote hain."

—Bunny, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

P.S.—Read my book on Dil Chahta Hai here.