Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani & Its Glorious 11 Years

“Yaadein mithai ke dibbe ki tarah hoti hai, ek baar khula toh sirf ek tukda nahi kha paoge“, Naina rightly said so while turning pages of her school yearbook. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani; the most beautiful chapter of most late 90s and early 2000s kids. It won’t be an exaggeration to call it my favourite movie of all time. It won’t definitely be an overstatement to say that I watched it over 80 times. Yes, I am thaaaat jobless (while having a job).

11 Years Of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani!!!

Today, we are celebrating the birthday baby; 11 years of YJHD. It feels strange realising that it’s been 11 long years. So many of us dreamt of being Bunny and exploring duniya ka har kona. Girls nationwide wanted to wear Deepika’s exact navy-blue saree and deep-neck blouse at weddings, farewells, and probably all the suitable events. Dreaming for that one trip to the mountains and dancing on Chumma Chumma. (I know my friends are reading this and we still are extremely unsuccessful in living this dream).

YJHD Stan Forever!

There are Hindi movies on friendship in abundance (Disclaimer: not saying good movies). Have you ever imagined why we relate to YJHD so much and not the others? Famous (and still relevant) movies playing around similar genres or having ‘travelling with friends’ as a key part are Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Both these movies have a cult fanbase but still cannot be as special and relatable as YJHD, at least for me. But why?

I feel like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara influences us to dream of that one bucket-list holiday and makes us realise that even the best of friends often fall out but they can get back as nothing is more precious than friendship. And of course, a European trip is too out of budget to relate even 1% of that dreamy vacation. Coming to Dil Chahta Hai, we were either toddlers or unborn to understand the hype when it was released in 2001.

It’s Too Special For Me!

Why won’t Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani be special? Boy, I fell in love with the film and how. I think this is one of the very few movies that I have tons of memories to connect with throughout my entire life. I was in 8th standard and borrowed a CD from a friend for the first time to watch Ranbir. It was my first time arranging for a CD all by myself. Thanks to my Baba who usually took care of all these things.

After obsessing over Hrithik Roshan for 6-7 years, I finally found a new crush. No point to guess as it clearly is Ranbir Kapoor. Cheesy alert: I kept him as my mother’s mobile’s wallpaper too. I didn’t know before that I could memorise an entire 2 hours and 40 minutes movie until I watched it way too many times. Thank you for helping me to recognise this specific ability. Pretty cool, right?

Also, I watched YJHD a few months back at a theatre and it was, is, and will always be the best movie experience of my life.

Chalo bye for now! Lemme watch the movie and enjoy it like watching it for the first time.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/ Ayan Mukerji (@ayan_mukerji)