“99 SONGS” Movie Review
CAST:
EHAN BHAT ,EDILSY,TENZIN DALHA,LISA RAY,MANISHA KOIRALA,WARINA HUSSAIN,RAHUL RAM ,RANJIT BAROT,DIWAKAR PUNDIR,NEEL TYAGI etc.
CREW:
MUSIC & STORY: A.R.RAHMAN ,SCREENPLAY & DIRECTION: VISHWESH KRISHNAMOORTHY, DIALOGUES: HUSSAIN DALAL ,TAMIL DIALOGUES: GAUTHAM VASUDEV MENON,LYRICS: VIVEK, MADAN KARKY, THA MARAI, KABILAN, PA VIJAY, KUTTI REVATHI, MASHOOK RAHMAN ,CINEMATOGRAPHY: TANAY SATAM, JA MES COWLEY,EDITOR: AKSHAY MEHTA, SHREYAS BELTANGDY,VISUAL EFFECTS: LABYRINTH CINEMATIC SOLUTIONS & RED CHILLIES VFX,SOUTH DESIGNER: KRISHNAN SUBRAMANIAN,PRO: NIKIL MURUKAN etc.
Story-;
99 Songs follows Jay (Ehan Bhat) — an aspiring musician, whose childhood we learn through montages and flash backs as the story progresses. He grows up with a father who detests music, but the protagonist finds his calling anyway. He is in love with a mute girl, Sophia Singhania (Edilsy Vargas), the daughter of a rich industrialist. He wi shes to marry Sophia but we have a stereotypical dad who doesn’t believe in Jay’s dreams of becoming a musicia n. When Jay stands his ground, the dad lays down a challenge — compose 100 songs before he can come aro und as king his daughter’s hand in marriage. And so Jay sets out on a journey that turns both his and Sophia’s worlds up side down. How the duo reunites by overcoming hardships, self-doubt and infidelity rumours form the rest of the plot.
Watch The Trailor-;
Movie Review-;
Music maestro AR Rahman, who gave Indian cinema a new high with his music, has become a filmmaker with 99 Songs. 99 Songs has been released in theaters on Friday (April 16) amidst the second wave of the Coronavirus. During this time, the release dates of many big films were postponed, but Rahman did not budge from his da te. The film has also been released in Tamil and Telugu along with 99 Songs Hindi. 99 Songs is the result of Rahman’s dec ade-long hard work. This story came to his mind ten years ago and since then he was engaged in its constru ction. The film finally reached theaters. Rahman as a musician is very difficult to measure and 99 Songs is a living example of this. If the producer of a film is Rahman and the genre is musical, then it is not difficult to guess what the result will be. Rahman’s musical presence can be felt in every frame of 99 songs. On the music and technical front, 99 Songs is a hit, but in terms of story, Rahman missed the rhythm.
99 Songs is the story of Jai, a college student who has music in full swing. Despite bitter childhood memories and their father’s warnings, Jai wants to become a singer, songwriter, and musician. There are two other people in Jai’s life. Her friend Polo and girlfriend Sophie Singhania. Sophie cannot speak. Impressed by Jai’s music concert at the college, Sophie’s business tycoon invites father Jai to her house party. Jai also wins the Chief Minister’s heart in the party by his performance. After the party, Sophie’s father gives a business idea to Jai to start a music streaming service, which Jai will lead. However, Jai does not want to trade music and turns down the offer.Jai argues that one song in an artist’s life can change the world. Annoyed by Jai’s refusal, Sophie’s father challenges him to produce not one but 100 songs, only after which Jai can take his relationship with Sophie forward. This challenge becomes the motive of Jai’s life, in which his friend Polo is helped. Polo takes Jay with him to Home Town Shillong.
In Shillong, Jai meets club singer Sheela. Jai Sheela’s band plays the piano. However, an accident happens and Jai is proven to be addicted to drugs and admitted to rehab. Jai breaks into Rehab and gives up hope.In Rehab, Jai learns the bitter truth of childhood, which caused his father to hate music very much, and because of that hat red, Jai is not able to learn music openly. However, with the help of Rehab director Manisha Koirala and friend, Jai finally composes a song whose music has the urge to change the whole world.The screenplay of the film’s dir ector Vishwesh Krishnamurthy is well within the boundaries of the story written by Rahman. The story is stra ightforward, so there was no scope for much experimentation in the screenplay. An attempt has been made to make the screenplay interesting through flashbacks and Sophie’s narration.
Some scenes touch the mind, wanting to learn music, Nanhe Jai is sometimes taken to a temple, sometimes a mosque, and sometimes to a church and gurdwara, where he stands and listens to the music that is drowned in prayers. There are 14 songs in the film, which have been used according to the situation. But O Aashika, who came just before the climax, is the soul of 99 songs, while Saathiya Saathiya, who plays with the credit roles, is Karna-darling. Apart from music, 99 Songs has the second highest quality cinematography. Tanay Satam and James Cowley have done amazing work with the camera. Visual effects add life to imaginary scenes. Talking about acting, it is the first film of both the lead actors of the film, Ahan Bhatt and Edilsey Vargas. Ehan has done a good job in the role of a music lover struggling with his past. One does not realize the first film by seeing him in scenes. Edilsey is beautiful in the film. Edilsey has played the character of the voiceless Sophie live with rese ntment. As a friend, Tenzin Dalha has done the right thing.
Musician Ram Rahim’s special appearance gives a decisive twist to the story and Jai’s character. Lisa Singer is likable in the role of club singer Sheila. However, his character is not very long. Manisha Koirala’s cameo in the role of Rehab director supports Jai’s character.Speaking of performances, Ehan Bhat puts his life and soul into the performance and it shows. As a newcomer, he’s sure to benefit as the role gave him an opportunity to display a wide range of emotions. Edilsy Vargas is a great find. She doesn’t have any dialogues but communicates beau tifully. Sadly, she gets a raw deal in the second half. Ranjit Barot, popular music composer, does very well as an actor. Diwakar Pundir is okay and doesn’t look that old. Tenzin Dalha (Polo) has a crucial part and is quite brill iant. After Axone and Guilty, this actor once again delivers a memorable performance.
Lisa Ray (Sheila) is confident and her scenes are quite good. Sadly, she is completely forgotten in the second half and that’s a major blunder done by the makers. Manisha Koirala is okay and it’s sad that she took up this incons equential role. Warina Hussain is lovely. Ashwath Bhatt (CM Prabhakar) is fine but his track in the end is laugh able. Rahul Ram is fine as the mysterious well wisher while Chaitanya Sharma’s track is random.A R Rahman’s music is not upto the mark and that’s the biggest problem with the film, which is a musical. The music just isn’t memorable and won’t have a shelf life. The songs however work well in the film and one won’t mind it. But it’s no t something which’ll make one search for it after exiting the theatre. The songs that stand out are ‘Humnawaa’, ‘Jwalamukhi’ and ‘O Aashiqa’. ‘Soja Soja’ is well shot and conceptualized. ‘Veere Kadh De’, ‘Nayi Nayi’, ‘Teri Nazar’, ‘Sofia’ and ‘Sai Shirdi Sai’ are average. A R Rahman’s background score has the theatrical and Opera feel. Tanay Satam and James Cowley‘s cinematography is spectacular. Visually, the film is brilliant and no two doubts on th at. Aparna Raina‘s production design is super-rich and adds to the visual appeal.
Eka Lakhani‘s costumes compliment the genre and the character’s way of life. Labyrinth Cinematic Solutions and Red Chillies VFX‘s VFX is aesthetically beautiful. Akshay Mehta and Shreyas Beltangdy‘s editing (consulting ed itor: Monisha R Baldawa) is fine. A R Rahman‘s story has promise but Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy‘s screenplay is not upto the mark. The film packs in a lot and in the process, fails to do justice to the principle love story. Also, a few developments are devoid of lo gic and not well thought of. Hussain Dalal‘s dialogues are nothing grea t.Vish wesh Krishnamoorthy‘s direction is a mixed bag. Technically, he’s very sound and that shows, especially the way he has handled the grandeur. Some scenes are well executed, like Jay in his childhood visiting a temple, mosque, church and gurudwara and finding inspiration for music in these places. Then the scene where Jay and Polo do a nusical face-off at Shillong’s jazz club is hilarious. But the director focuses a lot on metaphorical scenes. After a while, it gets too much and ha mpers the impact. He should have used the precious time in developing some cha racters and some tracks p roperly. Instead, he fails to do justice to the characters of Lisa Ray,
Ashwath Bhatt and even the lead actress. Moreover, the finale is bizarre, especially the track of the Chief Min ister, and one wonders how it got approved. However, even if logic and everything else was upto the mark, the film would have still not impressed due to the music score. Again, in the end, one can feel this. The makers are trying to prove that one particular song composed by the protagonist has gone viral but the song doesn’t seem to be so good that it can take the whole world by storm. The film delves into the life of Jay (Ehan Bhat), who has be en kept far away from music by his father as he feels that it is the same profession that ruined their lives. How ever, Jay gets into the same forbidden domain of music and that’s through the angelic Sophie (Edilsy Vargas), wh ose arrival in his life takes him through the pursuit of music. Her father (Ranjit Barot) stands amidst them as bar ricade insisting that he has to compose 100 songs before getting her hand for marriage.This point of moment takes Jai through various encounters with various people and incidents that takes him to the predestined lands of what he hadn’t expected.
AR Rahman’s vision predominantly appears throughout the film and it is present in every frame. It shows the de pth of detailing that he and directed Vishwesh have given across the years before filming the movie. The emoti onal aspects in 99 songs are the biggest strength. Of course, music and emotions are inseparable that has been very well executed through AR Rahman’s music and beautiful visuals. Both the lead actors Ehan and Edilsy have given their best into their roles. It is evident that they have prepared with heart and soul for this charact eriza tion. The film tries to break the barrier among the boundaries as audiences as ‘Music’ is the common langua ge and has a soul that will connect with everyone. AR Rahman’s motive of projecting his profession in a pure life and far away from what the common men and women judge it as a platform that will let musicians indulge in bad ha bits is broken here.On the whole, 99 Songs is a beautiful experience, which has to be watched in theatres for the significant visuals and theatre play impact.
This IS MY Personal Review So Please Go And Watch The Movie In Theaters Only
Written By- T.H.PRASAD -B4U-Ratting-3 /5
