Beautiful serenades, heart-rending nostalgia, reminiscences of youthful exuberance, twinges of sadness, touches of unspoken family turmoil, mixed with the eternal bonds of bittersweet love and friendship, served along with some adolescent fun & frolic - that is "Purani Jeans", a coming-of-age film written and directed by the young débutante, Tanushri Chattrji Bassu. The film revolves around deep bonds of friendship and love. The romantic drama, set in the 90's and 12 years later, reminds us of the youthful infatuations of our growing years. Old friends, who were a close knit group in their youth, calling themselves the "Kasauli Cowboys", meet once again after a gap of twelve years and relive their pangs of growing up. Tanuj Virwani as bashful Sid, the main character, plays his role well. Aditya Seal as Sam, Sid's best friend, is the epitome of youthful enthusiasm. He has a lot of talent and performs commendably. Isabel Leite as Nayantara, looks charming. The experienced Sarika and Rati Agnihotri have both acted flawlessly. The rest of the young "Kasauli Cowboys" all perform decently. Music director Ram Sampath has done an outstanding job. The melodious songs remind us of the golden era of Hindi film music. Excellent photography and locations have fittingly portrayed the picturesque beauty of the Himalayas. Despite the film being a wonderful walk through nostalgia, the film was not publicised well and thus did not earn the footfalls and eyeballs it deserved. This lack of publicity should not take any credit away from its new cast and the débutantes - director Tanushri Chattrji Bassu and producer Manju Lulla. All in all, "Purani Jeans" is a clean family film that definitely deserves a 'dekko' in its DVD release.
