'96 (film)

'96
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	C. Prem Kumar
Written by	C. Prem Kumar
Produced by	S. Nanthagopal
Starring	Vijay Sethupathi Trisha Krishnan Devadarshini Gouri G. Kishan Aadithya Bhaskar
Cinematography	Mahendiran Jayaraju N. Shanmuga Sundaram
Edited by	R. Govindaraj
Music by	Govind Vasantha
Production company	Madras Enterprises
Distributed by	Seven Screen Studio Khafa Exports (Overseas)
Release date	4 October 2018 (2018-10-04)
Running time	158 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹18 crore[2]

'96 is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film^[3] written and directed by C. Prem Kumar in his directorial debut. Produced by S. Nanthagopal of Madras Enterprises, the film was distributed by Lalit Kumar under his banner, Seven Screen Studio. Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan are in the prominent roles as Ram and Jaanu, while newcomers Gouri G. Kishan and Aadithya Bhaskar played the younger versions. The film also stars an ensemble cast including Bagavathi Perumal, Devadarshini, Aadukalam Murugadoss, and others. The film revolves around the reunion of former students from the batch of 1996, twenty-two years after their graduation. The reunion also serves as an opportunity for two former lovers, Ram and Jaanu, to resolve issues surrounding their separation.^[4]

Prem Kumar wrote the script in December 2015, during the period of Chennai floods and completed the entire script within 20 days, which revolved around his life at his high school reunion. After the official announcement, the principal photography of the film commenced on 12 June 2017 at Kumbakonam, and was shot across various locations in Chennai and Pondicherry, while also being filmed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kolkata, Rajasthan, and Kullu–Manali. The cinematography was handled by Mahendiran Jayaraju and N. Shanmuga Sundaram, with editing being handled by R. Govindaraju. The music and background score were composed by Govind Vasantha.

'96 was released worldwide on 4 October 2018. The film received acclaim from critics, who praised the script, direction, music, cinematography, the nostalgic setting of the film, and the performances of Sethupathi and Trisha. It was a commercial blockbuster, grossing ₹50 crore (US$6.0 million).^[5] In addition, the film won six Norway Tamil Film Festival, five Filmfare, Ananda Vikatan, four SIIMA, Edison, Behindwoods awards each, and also won an Asiavision, Asianet and Vanitha film award for Trisha. The film was remade by Preetham Gubbi in Kannada as 99 (2019), and by Prem Kumar himself in Telugu as Jaanu (2020).