Review: 96
Make no mistake, this film is a sensation and will eventually go on to become a classic! In short, this is a fantastic film that gets a full five on five marks!
Film: 96
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Trisha, Devadarshini, Janakaraj, Baghavathi Perumal, Aadukalam Murugadoss.
Director: C Prem Kumar
Music: Govind Vasantha
Cinematography: Shanmughasundaram and Mahendran Jeyaraju
Director C Prem Kumar’s 96 can best be described as one of the most remarkable and elegant films to have ever been made in the history of Indian cinema.
Everything about this film is remarkable. Be it its cinematography, its music, its characters or the story that the director narrates through them, the whole effort is nothing but poetry on screen.
The film is about a successful travel photographer, K Ramachandran (Vijay Sethupathi), who pays a visit to his school in his home town and in the process is tempted to have a reunion with his classmates of 96.
A reunion is organised a couple of months later and it is here that he gets to meet all his friends and classmates including Janaki or Janu (Trisha), the girl he has been in love with ever since they were in school.
Life has taken the two on different paths altogether but the affection that they have for each other hasn’t changed one bit even after 22 years. What happens when they meet is what the film is about.
Every single character in this film has done a brilliant job. Be it Gouri G Kishan who plays the young Janaki or Aaditya Baskar, who plays the young Ramachandran, or Devadarshini who plays Subha or Janakaraj who plays the watchman, everybody is on the dot.
Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha in particular are magnificent. Trisha is delightfully charming as Janaki. She gently teases her way into not just Ram’s heart but also the hearts of the audiences. Her sweet mischief makes you grin while her sorrow makes you sob. She comes up with such a powerful performance, that despite youself, you experience the disappointment that she would have experienced and hope and pray that she is happy and comfortable when she goes back home to Singapore. That is how powerful her performance in this film is.
Vijay Sethupathi as Ramachandran is dignity personified. He is solid as a rock, displaying the traits and behaviour of what you would call a perfect gentleman. Despite having a love that exceeds the depths of the oceans for Janu, Ram is ever under control, making sure his love does not cause any discomfort to her. Ever careful not to hurt Janu in even the slightest of ways, he goes out of his way to make his sweet heart comfortable. All she has to do is just look at him and he knows what she wants.
Director Prem deserves a special round of applause for showcasing and defining love as it really was back then.
Most people who were really ever in love uttered the words. It was a feeling that was mutually felt and reciprocated with just glances. And it is this magic that Prem brings to the fore in his beautifully crafted, poem on screen, 96.
Four actors apart from the lead pair deserve a special round of applause. Gouri G Kishan as the young Trisha is astounding. What a powerful performance from the youngster! She is bound to go places. The same goes for Aaditya Baskar, who plays the young Vijay Sethupathi. Exceptional acting from these two takes the film to a different level altogether.
Devadarshini as Subha comes up with yet another brilliant performance as does Baghavathi Perumal, who impressed in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom.
The film deserves to get awards for both its cinematography and music.
It has been shot by two cinematographers — Shanmughasundaram and Mahendran Jeyaraju. Every scene and I mean it, every single scene of this film is a painting. Feel free to freeze any scene in this film and what you have on screen is a visual treat to the eyes. Lighting, colour, symmetry, angles, frames, there is not one factor which is wrong or which could have been better. Everything is perfect.
Music by Govind Vasantha is equally impressive.
Director Premkumar has rewritten the rules of romance with 96. He has showcased romance from a man’s point of view in all sincerity.
For long, Tamil cinema had portrayed men as those who had no control over their carnal instincts. They had portrayed them like stalkers, maniacs, psychos and jilted lovers. Prem, for the first time, shows how men romance in reality and for that, this film deserves a big round of applause.
Make no mistake, this film is a sensation and will eventually go on to become a classic! In short, this is a fantastic film that gets a full five on five marks!
