Movie Review: 96 (Tamil)

Time is a great healer, so they say (even the opening credits mirror this thought: Maatrangal vinaa, maatrangalae vidai), but somethings in life are impossible to shrug off and move on. Capturing the nostalgia of first love and heartbreak in a poignant manner that's remarkably stripped of melodrama, C. Prem Kumar's 96 (as in the year 1996) is affecting, not only for its unconventional take on "pure" love, but also for its parallels to Ramayana. In the Hindu epic, Ram and Sita Janaki know they are for each other, yet circumstances force them to be repeatedly separated, once for a period of about an year, before they are briefly united, only to be estranged again forever. Yet her devotion to Ram is unconditional and unwavering. Even in 96, Ram and Janaki suffer from a similar fate.

First when they are just 16, paving the way for some lovely nostalgia, not to mention the Ilaiyaraaja masterpieces (but no A. R. Rahman, a strange omission considering how popular he was back in '96) that find their right place in the story, until an unforeseen twist forces them to never meet each other until about 20 years later. But even this reunion doesn't last long. When they are walking on the streets, they are on either sides of the divider, and while sitting across and conversing on the metro, we are shown the message "Please mind the gap between...". It's as if it is preordained that they are never meant to be together.

Yet it's all very heartwarming, capturing the life of a loner and his penchant for drifting around (Ram is shown as a travel photographer) in search of the love that has eluded him thus far. But interestingly 96 is as much about Janaki as it's about Ram - about what happened to her after they parted and her life post marriage and yet how, in her heart, she pines for him. But the narrative high the movie reaches midpoint slumps in the second half. The conversations begin to get a little weary and Prem Kumar engages in a little bit of unnecessary drama that feels forced and out of place in a movie that's otherwise so poetic it keeps us invested. Govind Vasantha's music is a big help, and so are the performances from Vijay Sethupathi, Trisha, Adithya Baskar and Gouri Kishan. Plus, I loved the fact that the movie left it to us to make whatever of Ram and Janaki's relationship. Highly recommended!