Sixteen

My review: Sixteen

There have been numerous movies made on the subject of problems faced by the adolescents but what makes Raj Purohit's "Sixteen" apart is the honesty of the attempt and unprejudiced and non-judgemental stand of the makers. There is no beating around the bush nor overt criticality of certain lifestyles. In that way "Sixteen" is a neat attempt by Raj Purohit and his team which has mostly unknown names in the lead.

Teenage is a tumultuous period where there is high potential for both greatness as well as disaster. Proper guidance as well as innate character traits and coping styles of the person concerned will eventually tilt the scales in one of the two directions. "Sixteen" explores the same with utmost sincerity. Only thing is movie just about loses steam in the second half but gathers itself towards the end. May be the end is a bit candy-flossed so that the audience would leave the hall with some amount of positive energy after all the shocks they have been dished to about today's youngsters. Though at certain points one would feel there is an element of exaggeration now and then but what they have shown in this movie is what is happening around oneself in the society especially in the metro cities and towns.

Izabelle Leite as the feisty and saucy Anu has done her part well in a meaty role. Though at certain points especially in the serious segments she looks lost overall her performance is good. Wamiqa Gabbi is blessed with most well rounded role among the four lead protagonists and she has utilized the opportunity well. Highpill Mathew has almost the same expression throughout the movie. May be the writers chose not to focus their energy on his character that much. Mahak is innocence personified and her character is the one which reminds one of their adolescence which we are used to for other characters may look alien to anyone who are not part of the current generation.  Keith Sequira is good, his role starts of confusing but gets a good conclusion. 

Prashanth Pillai's background score jells well with the story while he along with three others have scored music for songs which are all fast-paced dance numbers and couple of melodies.

Sriram Ganapathy has done a neat job capturing the emotions of the actors on screen as well the vibrancy of Delhi city, its gullies and landmarks.

On the whole, "Sixteen" is a neatly made film which explores a topical issue without being judgemental and taking sides. 

Bottomline: Vivacity and puerility of the teenage.

3.5/5