99 SONGS (2021)
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| Critic - No. 213 |
Director: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Written by: A.R.Rahman (story) & Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy (screenplay)
Produced by: A.R.Rahman
Casts: Ehan Bhat, Edilsy Vargas, Lisa Ray, Tenzin Dalh, Lisa Ray, Warina Hussain
Language: Tamil (dubbed)
Genre: Musical, Romance
Music: A.R.Rahman
SYNOPSIS:
Challenged to compose 100 songs before he can marry the girl he loves, a tortured but passionate singer-songwriter, Jay embarks on a poignant musical journey.
REVIEW:
Jay’s (Ehan Bhat) heart beats for two - his music and his girlfriend Sophie (Edilsy Vargas). While he is not quite there on his road to success yet, his rich girlfriend’s father Sanjay Singhania (Ranjit Barot) challenges him to compose 100 songs before he can think of marrying Sophie. This kick starts Jay’s strenuous journey that takes him to the beautiful and bumpy journey of self-realisation.
Staying true to the genre of the musical, the film is filled with a generous amount of soundtracks and scintillating tracks oozing with the passion of Academy award winner, A.R.Rahman. The music is large and the production quality matches the grandness. The film has a straightforward plot, simple conflict, and a hovering romantic track. But what makes the film engaging are the visuals and magic realism that the makers have blended the story in. While Jay is going through his journey to win his love, we also see parallelly how Sophie is going through an emotional roller coaster filled with anxiety and uncertainty. The layered screenplay from Vishwesh is commendable while Gautham Menon’s dialogues (for Tamil version) give us the needed oomph at some nicely staged romantic scenes.
Acting-wise, Ehan gives a refined performance as a passionate musician, and the drive powers through his eyes in each scene. Sophie looks a million but I wished she could have given a more complete character. Tenzin looks natural and scores well at significant emotional scenes.
The second half of the film is a bit messy with a force-fitted subplot about drugs, Jay’s episode at a rehab center, and his friendship with the Jazz singer. The film had lots of potential of having obstacles within the making of music but instead throws in ambiguous conflicts which just don’t sit. Even Sophie’s transition into a gothic businesswoman feels abrupt and the main conflict between her father and Jay suddenly gets deprioritized. But again, A.R.Rahman’s music and Tanay Satam-James Cowley’s arresting cinematography elevate even these scenes to keep us engaged. That is exactly the problem I had for the film - instead of rooting for the characters, I ended up traveling with the film’s emotions through the visuals and songs.
However, I felt that the beautifully shot backstory of Jay’s parents kind of revived the film a little to bring me back to root for Jay’s success again. Even though the climax on how Jay’s music impacts people looks far-fetched, that might be A.R.Rahman’s dream and hope on how music (or generally art) can possibly heal the world.
VERDICT:
‘99 Songs’ is a visually stunning musical that pays a passionate tribute to the magic of music by India’s most celebrated music composer, A.R.Rahman.
CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5:
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