In Vetri Maaran’s 2019 action drama Asuran, Dhanush’s Sivasamy signs off with a cautionary tale for his son Chidambaram, played by Ken Karunaas, about education being the sharpest weapon against social hierarchy. Seven years later, it’s now Chidambaram’s time to stand for education. Ken directs and stars in Youth, a coming-of-age entertainer that speaks the tongue of new-gen youth and champions education. And Ken does it in a playful tone and with a familiar mainstream template we have seen used previously in films like Don and Dragon — he makes a film for, about, and from the perspective of his targeted audiences (high schoolers) and slips in his moral lesson like a doctor distracting a child to administer a needle.
The film has a disarmingly slight story, neutral and universal in plot, and is told using an intentionally elementary template. It follows a troublemaking 10th grader, Praveen (Ken), who lives a carefree, bratty school life,to the dismay of his father, Unnikrishnan, and is almost undeserving of the trust his dotting mother Saroja places in him. “Finding the love of my life is my only goal,” he declares, as he whiles away pursuing the girls he crosses paths with, from his school to the terrace of his home. But the unthinkable happens to Praveen one fine day: on one of his routine punishments standing outside the class, he meets Preshika (Meenakshi Dinesh), another brat from his adjacent classroom. It’s an instant match made in heaven.
To his mates, even falling in love is a sign of machismo and rizz, and so when Praveen gets into a relationship, it’s an unheard-of achievement that gains him celebrity status. What’s even more special? He got the girl to propose to him, and so if high school were a game of WWE trading cards, Praveen is the Big Show card. But what if I say that the god he prays to is a god who keeps on giving. One fine day, he gets a Facebook text from a girl named Sonal (a boy getting a request from a girl? Whoa), and it turns out this isn’t a fake account, but rather, a real girl, sweet-looking with a twinkle in her eye (Priyanshi Yadav), who soon confesses that she is head-over-heels in love with Praveen. Every head must bow, every lip must confess, Praveen is the G.O.A.T.
But what goes up must come down. Praveen suffers a double heartbreak with Preshika and Sonal. Everything goes awry. So is this film just about Ken and his school life? Earlier in the film, we see his parents, Saroja (Devadarshini) and Unnikrishnan (Suraj Venjaramoodu), suffer a crushing humiliation at the hands of their relatives. This detail is planted early on to show that there’s an overarching layer to Youth, one that is sure to make you smile.
Youth (Tamil)
Director: Ken Karunaas
Cast: Ken Karunaas, Anishma Anilkumar, Meenakshi Dinesh, Priyanshi Yadav
Runtime: 141 minutes
Storyline: A high-school boy’s dream comes true when two girls fall in love with him; however, when life slaps him with a reality check, he is forced to rethink his priorities
Nothing about Youth is pressing or unprecedented — nothing extraordinary ever happens, and the template is followed to the T. Every school might have many Praveens who go through similar experiences. Even the third act that ushers in the evolution for Praveen seems like a legend you hear from your school seniors.
ButYouth revels in celebrating the highs and humiliations, joys and jitters, and the innocence and disillusionment of high school life. Watching Praveen and his unruly gang engage in shenanigans made me think of the many colourful characters from my high school. There’s an over-the-topness that seems almost proudly indecent — boy gang throwbacks are seldom civil. The romances, for instance, are cringingly cheesy and juvenile, but Ken doesn’t miss out on telling you that these are intentional — puppy love between hormonal high schoolers is most definitely cringy to the observer.
Youth compels your undivided attention when Ken moves on to show the equation between Praveen’s parents. Suraj and Devadarshini deliver clean performances, and Unni and Saroja stay with you and remind you of what true love means, what parenthood in the 21st century is all about, and the harsh truth about societal expectations and social hierarchy. Be it a dialogue between them about happiness or how the dynamics between Unni, Saroja, and Praveen seem organic and their feelings justified from each of their perspectives…Ken reminds us that he isn’t his character, and therefore, quite mature.
A still from ‘Youth’
| Photo Credit:
Paarvathaa Entertainments
He does quite an able job as a performer, but most importantly, he also gets the best out of his team. GV Prakash Kumar, whose promo videos with Ken have gone viral, shoulders the film with his scores, and the songs add some more colour to this cheery school life.
There is a moment in the third act that made me pause a bit. Praveen tells someone that perhaps true love comes without any expectations, one that backs you no matter what, like a parent who wouldn’t ever give up on their child. While it feels like an outdated aspiration, an impractical pressure on love, I’m reminded that this comes from a 24-year-old writing a teenager’s coming-of-age.
Love, if anything, evolves with the meaning we give to it. At one stage, it can mean to be with someone who truly understands you, an expectation that fades when you realise that there’s more to it than just that. For Praveen, a girl should love as your parents do, and that is okay to believe at that age. And so, perhaps the most beautiful thing about Youth is that both Ken and Praveen allow themselves to be who they are. They are imperfect and evolving, as all of us are.
Youth is currently running in theatres
Published – March 20, 2026 01:16 pm IST
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