Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee review: A faithful recreation of the 90s with a tint of romance

Cast: Kishen Das, Amritha Mandarine, Goutham Raj CSV, Harini Ramesh, K Harish, Manjunath Nagarajan, Meetha Raghunath, Naren Vijay, Purva Raghunath, Rahul Kannan, Sacchin, Sharan Kumar, Varun Rajan

Director & Music composer: Darbuka Siva

Cinematographer: Sujith Sarang

Synopsis: A bunch of high school students in a strict Catholic school goes through the typical rigours of teen life.

Rating: 3.5

Over the years, we have had several flicks like Comali which tried to milk out the 90's nostalgic feel of viewers by flashbacks and not make the period as the major plot point. These films (except Prem Kumar's '96' and Roopa Rao's 'Gantumoote') forget to take us through the memory lane or make us relate to the characters. Darbuka Siva's debut film 'Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee' or 'MNMN' tries to be different and recreates flawlessly those memories with a bunch of child-like teens that rekindles the right kind of emotions and nostalgia.

It's a refreshing take on slice of life, following typical rigours of teen life during school - Dreams, first love, music, football, video cassettes, bullying, and what not? These characters are written in a naive manner as they are insecure yet are sensible. They grow past love affairs, small fights, or even bullying. Darbuka Siva, who turned from a music composer to a filmmaker, gets the film well churned out with enough sensibilities that he perfects knows what to show and whatnot.

In the very first scene, we are introduced to five friends Vinoth (Kishen Das), Chinese (Harish Kumar), Durai (Sharan Kumar), Navushad (Manjunath), and Surendar aka Su (Gautham Raj CSV) who all have returned to school after their 10th std summer vacation, wait outside their classrooms to check the list of new admissions to find out names of girls who would perfectly match them and within minutes, we get introduced to Rekha (Meetha Raghunath), whom Vinoth falls head over heels in love with. The bond between Vinoth and Rekha is so genric, yet the setting and the innocence between them make us relate to it with scenes of them listening to ARR songs from walkman in the Spencer plaza or just discussing college life.

Apart from the couple, the film has a perfect blend of atmosphere and tone bringing the 90's mood subconsciously into the viewer's mind. It also has a slight bit of humor from the Character 'Chinese' (Played effortless by Harish Kumar) of him trying to impress the school girls to the way he proposes to Catherine (Purva Raghunath), is outrageously funny and absurd.

For the film modeling lighter side of life, it is commendable that it doesn't steer away from addressing issues like bullying, women harassment, and homophobia that happens in schools which shows the maturity of Dabukar Siva's writing and there isn't any emotion that is overused or prolonged for sympathy. For instance, there is a scene in which Rekha buys a guitar for her lover Vinoth, who is an aspiring musician on his birthday. They celebrate quietly with a plum cake and when he is asked to play, he plays it badly. In a normal rom-com film, the character would play well without logical reasoning, but here he doesn't as he hasn't practiced with it. It is as poetic and real.

There is always a keen detail to every frame for recreating the 90's of Chennai genuinely, from Indian to Hollywood film posters, CD's shops, oversized pants to MJ's references. Kudos to Art director Vasudevan for recreating these details with finesse and for Cinematographer Sujith Sarang whose angles, hand-held shots, and color tones bring the mood of the film perfectly even though it isn't shot in a film camera.

Darbuka Siva also doesn't stop with brushing the film to make it lighter rather he explores the misunderstanding and complications of relationships that one has to endure through. When the Chinese character gets mature enough, he leaves all the naughtiness and becomes more resilient. He turns into a guy who understands, sympathizes and that shows the writing of Siva.

But where the film falters is in the second half, where it goes into the reunion and makes us question why is that every filmmaker who deals with films based on the '90s has to eventually land up with the second half of a reunion? Is there any other choice to not do that or is that seem to be an easy way out to show the aged characters' lives? Few scenes from post-interval don't work well and act as a filler to fit in. Rather than a cliched reunion, I wish that the individual characters' personal lives could have been much explored.

Yet, Darbuka Siva is the sole hero of the film, he even makes a surprise cameo as a god and as he has composed music for the film, he uses it in a riveting way by putting them bits apart for a few scenes before and after, until it appears as a song when Vinoth sings in the bar.

The film also spins its narrative around choices and how life would change if some egos are left compromised at different stages of life.

Even though the second half was a bit cliche, some characters still stay the same and in addition to that, we also get to know Catherine's backstory (Purva Raghunath) and Rahul Kannan as an LGBTQ activist with his partner which is worthy enough for us to know the characters well.

Overall, Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee transports us to the world of the 90s and rekindles our memories well. It is as personal for Darbuka Siva as anyone who wants to go back to school and just enjoy with their friends amid judgments, social media, and gossip. It is worth watching and Darbuka Siva's music will surely lift your face with a smile.