A R Rahman musical with tepid storytelling

Hindi

Director: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy

Cast: Ehan Bhat, Edilsy Vargas

Rating: 2/5

A young man Jay (Ehan Bhat) yearning to learn and play music gets separated from his lover (Edilsy Vargas) because of her business-minded father who demeans his achievements.

To prove a point, Jay moves to Shillong to write 100 songs, along with his friend played (Tenzing Dalha). How he gets to his most important (100th) song makes the movie '99 Songs'.

The narrative shifts between Jay’s past and present and attempts an extraordinary presentation for an ordinary story by introducing magic realism and visual effects.

On the positive side, the performances of the three lead characters are refreshing. Some of the songs have the potential to become earworms. The movie has a 'La La Land' feel, probably because of the visual effects and music.

'99 songs', directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy and written and produced by A R Rahman, has good music but suffers from poor storytelling and direction.

Lisa Ray ends up becoming just another flirty, wasted character. In the end, the story also forgets to give closure to her character. Manisha Koirala has her moments.

The most important '100th song' is underwhelming. The film could have been shorter by 30 minutes. For a production that was years in the making, '99 Songs' ends up being just an average project.