Every now and then, a movie comes along to define a genre. Especially if the genre is love, you will be left with a whole lot of list to choose from when it comes to cult classics.
So, how does one make yet another love story and still make it stand out? Ask Premkumar, the director of the newly released "96'", the latest love story to hit our shores starring Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan.
Prem literally starts the movie by establishing Vijay Sethupathi's profession. He's a travel photographer, hence he travels - from deep forests to sea full of creatures, Vijay has all of it covered, he truly enjoys life (and uses the travelling as an escapism). He takes his time in everything - from drinking tea at a roadside tea-stall to driving his car at a barren dessert.
Fast forward, Prem also tells you that Ram (VJS) is a professor who supposedly teaches photography in a college (he doesn't mention this at any point in the movie, but merely allows us to make that assumption). One day, as he comes back from a class assignment, Ram comes across his old school in Tanjavur and that triggers a whole lot of high school memories, making him to arrange for a school reunion to meet up with all of his friends.
The director plays this episode very tastefully - the entire sequence of them preparing for the reunion is done via whatsapp and the ensuing conversations between the high school friends feels real and down to the earth.
Then enters Janaki, fondly called as Janu (Trisha) into the reunion day. Govind Vasantha, the music director literally puts Trisha on a pedestal with her introduction shot via his music. The moment Trisha appears on screen, the crowd favourite 'Kadhale Kadhale' plays blissfully at the background, elevating her presence on the story notches higher.
From then, the movie takes on a beautiful recollection of memories between Ram and Janaki as they bring the audience through their high school love and these memories continually is juxtaposed with their current memories. None of these memories are new, we have seen it before in other movies, but somehow the younger version of VJS and Trisha makes this fresh.
In terms of performances, Vijay Sethupathi's consistency in delivering performances of his lifetime is now come to a laughable level - what an actor Sethupathi is and yet this is one of his most understated performances. From his reactions when Trisha touches his chest once again after 22 years, to his hesitation whenever he is in close proximity with her shows you how even the slightest reactions add depth to a character. Notice the way he struggles to sit on the bed when Trisha tells him to, or when he talks about his virginity - he sells this scene without over doing it. Take a bow Vijay.
Trisha on the other hand delivers her best performance after Yennai Arindhal. Although it does take some time to get comfortable to the idea of imagining Trisha as a little girl from Tanjavur (the woman looks like a million bucks still), but her chemistry with Vijay allows this suspension of logic to happen. She has improved tremendously in scenes in which needs her to cry.
The movie's biggest strength has to be Govind Vasanth's music with Kadhale Kadhale, Andhaadhi and Vasantha Kalangal taking the claps all around the theatre. But huge credit also needs to be given to his background score - notice the scene where Vijay Sethupathi eats off Trisha's plate during the reunion, Govind literally makes you tear for a scene that simple. Brilliant work!
In summary, Premkumar's 96 is a movie that has come to redefine the love genre (yet again) for Tamil cinema. For a story that could have been wrong if treated differently, Prem keeps it unpredictable, real and moves away from any cinematic cliches that is often associated with the genre. Never in the movie do you feel as if the characters are acting, and that's a huge plus for a story like this - you genuinely want Ram and Janaki to end up together, and their struggles feels like yours.
The whole movie happens during the night - as an audience, you would never want to see the sunrise on their love.
Thank you for these beautiful memories, Premkumar.
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