'96 (film)

'96
Theatrical release poster
Directed byC. Prem Kumar
Written byC. Prem Kumar
Produced byS. Nanthagopal
Starring
Rihan Thakur
Cinematography
  • Mahendiran Jayaraju
  • N. Shanmuga Sundaram
Edited byR. Govindaraj
Music byGovind Vasantha
Production
company
Madras Enterprises
Distributed bySeven Screen Studio
Khafa Exports (Overseas)
Release date
  • 4 October 2018 (2018-10-04)
Running time
158 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹18 crore[2]
Box office₹50 crore[3]

'96 is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film[4] 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.[5]

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).[6] 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). The film was listed as one of the "All Time 150 Cult Indian Films" by Behindwoods in March 2020.[7]

  1. ^ "96 | British Board of Film Classification". bbfc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "96 completes 50 days in theatres despite Sarkar's success". Times Now News. 23 November 2018. The total budget of the movie was only Rs 18 crore, and it achieved more than that in its first week at the box office.
  3. ^ "Box Office: Vijay Sethupathi's 96 crosses Rs 50 crore mark worldwide". moviecrow.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Vijay Sethupathi-Trisha film titled '96'?". Sify. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ^ Thirumurthy, Priyanka (4 October 2018). "'96' review: This Vijay Sethupathi-Trisha film is beautiful, heartbreaking". The News Minute. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  6. ^ "96 earns Rs 10 cr across Tamil Nadu in opening weekend; Vijay Devarakonda's NOTA drops considerably". Firstpost. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  7. ^ "150 All-Time Best Cult Tamil Films by Behindwoods". Behindwoods. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2021.