20 years of Yuva: Esha Deol explains why Mani Ratnam chose her for the role of Radhika; says, ‘I was moofat’

Actress Esha Deol recently took to her social media to mark the 20th anniversary of Mani Ratnam’s highly renowned film ‘Yuva’. Describing the experience as a turning point in her career, Esha shared her profound memories and conveyed her sincere gratitude for the opportunity.
In her Instagram post, Esha wrote, “Mani sir you are magic. Working with you on both the films in Tamil & Hindi was a dream come true and extremely satisfying as an artist to have you direct me .Both my co stars Ajay Devgn and Suriya were just perfect and wonderful to work with. I remember this was the first time I worked with AJ ( Ajay ) and how mani sir and I would talk to each other in Tamil all the time while discussing the scenes which left Ajay wondering what on earth was being said.”
She further added, “Suriya I remember as a man of few words but once the cameras rolled we both were totally on fire in character full of life. Can’t believe it’s been 20 years of these 2 fantastic films I’m proud of being part of. Much gratitude.”

In an interview with India Today, Esha Deol elaborated on her thoughts about Yuva and said, “Radhika, my character, is very dear to me because playing her was a lot of fun. She had a very witty sense of humour and was ‘moofat’, something that I was, at least at that time. I used to be quite similar and hence, got into trouble. I think that’s what Mani Sir saw about me.”
Esha shared that she got the role because of Shaad Ali, who worked closely with Mani Ratnam. She shared, “I was doing my dance rehearsal at home and Shaad Ali, who was very much in Mani sir’s camp, came over and said, ‘This is what Mani sir wants’ [hinting at her look for the character] and that he wanted to meet me in Chennai.”
Released in 2004, ‘Yuva’ starring Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vivek Oberoi, explored the intertwining lives of three young men from disparate backgrounds. Radhika, the love interest of Vivek Oberoi, was portrayed by Esha Deol. The film, titled ‘Aayutha Ezhuthu’ in Tamil, starred Siddharth, Madhavan, and Suriya in the lead roles. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, the movie was a box office failure.