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The most elated filmmaker of the current generation, Amal Neerad has come up with a rarely touched plot in Malayalam and almost succeeded in pulling out an above average flick backed with a riveting climax. Even though the storyline sounds accustomed, it is the solid narrative style which makes the film worth watching.

The story of Varathan revolves around a happily married couple in Dubai named Abin and Priya played by Fahadh Faasil and Aishwarya Rajesh respectively. Abin and Priya decide to relocate and settle down in Kerala as the former lost his high profile job following a crisis in the company. As per Priya's decision, they move towards her ancestral property and the hardships which they incur upon landing there forms the crux of the story. Fahadh and Aishwarya have got meaty roles of their career and both excelled in their roles with utmost perfection. To be precise, Aishwarya as Priya was a delight to watch and her frustrations and emotional imbalance are shown with immense clarity so that every woman could easily relate her to themselves at some point in their lives. The couple's journey to their hometown in a taxi where the cab driver is peeping towards her shows the actual face of the society. The middle-aged Oanth essayed by Kochu Preman showcase the reality of a specific group of villagers around us and here the director clearly demolishes all the patriarchal values and righteousness upheld in typical Sathyan Anthikkad films. In fact, the movie is a tight slap at moral policing and narrow-minded people of the society who stares at every woman with a rigid mindset.

Fahadh Faasil is a gem when it comes to character transformation even with his looks and body language. Towards the climax, it is Fahadh's aptly played Abin who steals the show with a scintillating performance and thereby elevates the total mood of the film. Sharafuddin as Josey was a revelation and breaks the traditional image crowned on him by giving a matured performance as the vicious antagonist.

The biggest highlight of the film is magical and realistic frames by Little Swayamp. Every minute scenes including the caterpillar crawling overleaf, the sluggish movement of the caterpillar.... are all shot aesthetically. Sushin Shyam's bgm was terrific and blends perfectly with the soul of the movie. Editing by Vivek Harshan is top notch and go hand in hand with the narration and flow of the film. Varathan is definitely not the best among thriller genre films but should be appreciated for handling a socially relevant theme in a pleasing manner and also for creating a vibrant cinematic experience to the viewers and critics alike.

Expectations keep soaring whenever his name appears in the title card of a film! The filmmaker who penned the cult classic Nayakan, poignant Anjali, iconic Roja, romantic Alaipayutheyand many more....yes, Mani Ratnam is the master brain behind Chekka Chivantha Vaanam aka CCV.

The story unrolls by narrating the illegal activities of two local goons in Chennai namely Senapathy (Prakash Raj) and Chinnappadas (Thyagarajan). Things turn upward down when Senapathy and his wife gets attacked by a specific group in the disguise of policemen, but both of them narrowly escape from the assassination with serious injuries. Who did it? For whom?? and Why??? The answers are kept intact until climax which is a pleasant surprise.

Varadan (Arvind Swamy) is the elder son and righthand of Senapathy who looks after his father's proceedings in Chennai. Following the terrific incident in their family, Varadan's younger siblings Thyagu (Arun Vijay) and Ethi (Silambarasan) enter the scene. Thyagu is dealing with his own business in Dubai whereas Ethi is involved in the arms and weapons deal in Serbia. Accordingly, Varadan recalls his childhood friend Rasool for help in the crisis situation. Vijay Sethupathy as the stubborn cop Rasool did a commendable job with his subtle acting and shared equal screen space with Arvind Swamy throughout the film. The confessions of Varadan in front of Chitra towards the second half was emotionally brilliant and showed the class of Arvind Swamy as an actor. The biggest strength of the film is that the screenplay is compact and well balanced thereby succeeded in portraying all the main lead actors convincingly. However, unlike Mani Ratnam's previous outings, the female characters had no prominence in CCV. Being a multi-star movie, it is acceptable that heroines have fewer roles to play; but here the loosely bound female lads erupt the narration abruptly and pulls back the storyline slightly backward. For instance, in the scene where Varadan's wife Chitra (Jyothika) caught him red-handed along with secret lover, her reaction on Varadan seemed odd. Instead of blasting him for betrayal like any traditional wife and mother of three kids, Chitra just reminds him of the threats on his life and advice to be extra cautious about the same. Apart from this, Senapathy's wife and in-laws keep mum even when the rage between three brothers piles up constantly which make the female parts irrelevant in the screenplay.

Being a Mani Ratnam film, it is assured that the technical side is always on the high with A.R. Rahman's soulful music, crisp editing by Sreekar Prasad followed by the magical lens of Santhosh Sivan. It is a hard task for any filmmaker to chop off Rahman's songs which add much-needed flavor to the movie regardless of its content and here the veteran director did a tremendous job by adding the shortened version of all songs without feeling any lag in the narration. The wide-angle mountain shot in the climax where Rasool sits on top of the rock was stunning and marks the signature style of cinematographer Santhosh Sivan. Undoubtedly we can say that vintage Mani Ratnam is back after a string of flops with an engaging plot which has its heart in the right place.

A middle-aged travel photographer who blends with nature and its creatures by all means; he shares food mouth-to-mouth with a deer, sleeps below giant trees in the forest, hangs in the tree like an owl, tastes the raindrop stretching his tongue, plays carelessly with mud and water in a sandy beach, roam around the desert like an alien and stays alone in a self-made tent...so much detailing so that the central character itself is refreshingly new and makes the film 96 a promising stuff from the word go.

Vijay Sethupathy as Ram gets into the skin of the passionate photographer effortlessly and the vibe he created throughout the film deserves huge applause. On his way back from work, Ram passes by Thanjavur and gets fascinated by the fresh air of his native land. Instantly the fond memories of his childhood beckons and the excitement reached its peak upon landing in his school. Once he steps inside, the reminiscence of school days haunts him like never before and following which the reunion of 1996 classmates been organized by the initiative of his schoolmate Murali. Ram who still lives with the heart and soul of a '96 batch student is tensed to meet his high school lover after 22 years. Trisha gets a memorable character after a while and was pitch-perfect as the enchanting lovebird, Janaki aka Janu. Her entry to the reunion function coupled with that magnetic BGM can be tagged as the best ever intro scene for a heroine in any film. Apart from the lead pairs, all supporting characters had adequate screen space in the storyline; kudos to debutant writer-director Prem Kumar. To name a few Janaki's close friend Subhashini (Devadarshini) and Ram's best pal Murali (Bagavathi Perumal) made their presence felt in every prime moment in the screenplay.

The childhood version of Ram, Janu, and Subha essayed respectively by Aadithya, Gouri, and Niyathi need special mention for their matured and natural acting. The film has redefined the long-established concept of true love in Tamil cinema and proves that love can be told and expressed even without words or gestures. Here the young Ram and Janu never uttered about love in any of their conversations; Janaki shares food with him and seeks his help for every small thing while Ram wishes to see her on the front bench of the class every day and it is the inner mind that conveys the bonding and love between them. There are few pivotal moments where they just look at each other and their eyes describe a million words about the affection and respect for each other. The role of Ram is perhaps the most profound characterization we have come across in recent times; he is reserved, innocent and regards his lover as an idol in contrast with the typical muscular heroes of this era. He is not even confident to shower a birthday wish on her and does so only after compelling. Even a gentle touch of Janaki raises his heartbeat frequently and results in fainting. His friends tease him for not being manly, but his attitude remains the same as a sacred lover in a fantasy world. When it comes to middle-aged Ram, his persona and respect towards women remain unchanged; he urges female students not to wear sleeveless in the class and scolds them for being out at late night. Besides when Janaki touches him again at the reunion, Ram gets the same feeling of schooldays and felt dizzy. Never ever a character has been portrayed with so much accuracy and integrity in mainstream cinema.

Songs and background score of Thaikkudam Bridge fame Govind Vasantha are a treat to ears and navigates the movie smoothly towards the end. Lyrics are well written and connect with the storyline perfectly. The second half of the film could have been slightly trimmed to elude micro lag, but that doesn't fade the glory of this alluring love story. To sum up, 96 should be lauded and highly recommended for impeccable narration and also for depicting truly divine unconditional love with full majesty.