For those who have watched and wondered if the movie could create the magic of ’96, it’s both yes and no. No, because ’96 is one a kind and the Ram and Jaanu we fell in love with is like forever. Having said that, Jaanu is one of its kind as well. Take away the memories of ’96 and watch it, you will fall in love with the younger Ram and Jaanu as well.
Here, the batch is 2004 instead of 1996 to match the younger protagonists. Possibly that is the only major change to the movie. Otherwise, it is all one and the same, yet, effective.
The best part of the movie is that the protagonists neither tried to overdo nor to copy it from Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha from ’96. Samantha is Samantha here and she certainly is on a roll now. After a great 2019, this is a wonderful start to the year.
Sharwanand time and again proves that he is an excellent actor. The way he conscious pulls off Ram here is beautiful. Gouri Kishan as young Jaanu hits a sixer once again, and Sai Kiran as young Ram works out well too.
C Prem Kumar who handled the Tamil version has once again made justice with the faithful remake. While Sharwanand and Samantha are the stars on screens, Govindh Vasantha and Chinmayi Sripada are the stars behind the screens.
Govindh Vasantha’s music is once again soulful and just like in the Tamil version, Chinmayi has sung most of the songs in the movie and it is like reliving the experience which we had while watching the Tamil version. Also, she has dubbed for Samantha here.
To me, the best part of the movie is Vennila Kishore. You cannot keep him out of the movies, can we?
He provides us giggles as much as possible in the limited screen space.
On the whole, this movie is a faithful remake of ’96 and if you haven’t watched the Tamil version, you can catch this version and you will fall in love for sure. For those who have watched the Tamil version, you will not regret this but make sure to leave your comparisons at home and enjoy this bittersweet experience once again on screens.
