Film: Jaanu
Based on: '96 by C. Prem Kumar in Tamil
Directed by: C. Prem Kumar
Produced by: Dil Raju, Sirish
Written by: C. Prem Kumar
Dialogues: Mirchi Kiran
Starring: Sharwanand, Samantha Akkineni, Vennela Kishore, Sharanya Pradeep, and others
Music by: Govind Vasantha
Cinematography: Mahendiran Jayaraju
Edited by: Praveen K. L.
Production Company: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Release date: 7 February 2020
Running time: 150 minutes
Country: India
Language: Telugu

iQlikmoviesRating: 3/5

After the massive success of the film 96 in Tamil, the remake of the same released in Kannada. Now, the Telugu remake is in the theatres from today. Sharwanand and Samantha reprised the roles of Vijay Setupathi and Trisha Krishnan. Prem Kumar, who directed the original, has come up with the film now in Telugu too. Dil Raju produced the film. The movie hit the screens today, and the following is our review on this romantic entertainer.

Story:
Ram (Sharwanand) is a professional wildlife photographer who has been leading an adventurous life. One day he visits his hometown and goes into his school, which brings him back the memories of his first love Jaanu (Samantha). In school, Ram, who suffers from social inability, found it extremely hard to tell his feelings to his lady love Jaanu. In the present, Ram, along with some of his friends, goes to the reunion of their school friends. Jaanu also attends the meeting. What will Ram do? Can he be able to express his feelings now? What happens in the end? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:
Sharwanand proved his maturity as an actor with his outstanding performance in the movie. Most of the story revolves around his perspective, and Sharwanand has pulled off the character well. Though we can't compare his performance with Vijay Sethupathi's in the original version, we can say that Sharwanand did justice to the role.

Samantha also gave her cent percent for recreating the same magic as Jaanu. Samantha, who never fails to impress the audience with her exciting characters, delivered a remarkable performance in the film.

Vennela Kishore and Sharanya Pradeep also acted well and supported the lead actors. Varsha Bollamma's screen presence is limited, but she looked cute and promising in the film. The actors who did the young versions of Sharwanand and Samantha also delivered honest performances in the movie. The rest of the actors like Raghu Babu also made their presence felt.

Technical Aspects:
As director C Prem Kumar himself is the director of the original version, we can say that the director has succeeded in bringing out the same emotions and magic with the remake version as well. Though he made some minor changes to the storyline, the director sure focussed on the character establishments and properly narrating the story.

Production values by Sri Venkateswara Creations are rich and luxurious. Music by Govind Vasantha is too good and helped the audience to connect more well more with the storyline. Cinematographer Mahendran Jayaraju has produced some bright visuals for the film. Editing by Praveen KL is neat.

Analysis:
Though it is not a great idea to remake a classic film like 96, we can say that 'Jaanu' has its freshness and beauty. When compared to the original version, the makers have made some small changes to be the storyline for the Telugu version to match the nativity. But, we can say that most of the emotional scenes are the same in both the versions and some will create the same magic as 96 among the audience. Performances, songs, BGM, and the narration will be the most significant plus points of this film. Though there are a few shortcomings, we can say that the audience can watch the movie once. Without any expectations, 'Jaanu' can be beautiful and fresh love story.

Plus Points:
Performances
Emotional & Relatable content
Dialogues
Music & BGM

Minus Points:
The runtime could be less, for more impact
Slow Narration

Final Verdict: 'Jaanu' is a nostalgic ride of First Love