Miss You Movie Review: There are two important meet-cutes in director N Rajasekhar’s third film, Miss You. One is when aspiring filmmaker Vasu (an effective Siddharth) looks at Subbulakshmi (a terrific Ashika Ranganath) during a protest for the right to wear a hijab. One is when aspiring filmmaker Vasu looks at Subbulakshmi acting all cutesy during a wedding event of a common friend. Both are template scenes that we have gotten used to seeing in innumerable Tamil films. It is a commentary on how our heroes fall in love with heroines only if they are either bold and confident or bubbly and cute. What about the women who are neither bold nor confident, neither bubbly nor cute? That’s exactly what Miss You wanted to talk about, but it has one big problem. Contrary to the film’s protagonist who wanted to tell a love story from the perspective of a woman, Miss You is firmly from the POV of the man.
But in many ways, the man at the centre of things is a conscientious one, who has amazing clarity on what he wants, but is forced to go with the flow. In theory, he is the male version of our commercial cinema heroines, who only have the illusion of choice. Imagine Divya from Mouna Ragam, but name him Vasu, have Siddharth play the character, and set the film in 2024. It is a stretch, but you get the gist, right? And the reason for him going with the flow isn’t just pressure from parents and friends, but because he has met with an accident, and has forgotten the past two years of his life. With such a strong premise, Rajasekar could have done so many different things, but sticks to what has been the core of his two previous films — quintessential romcom with liberal doses of masala cinema.
Vasu, who suffers from memory loss, falls in love with Subbulakshmi, who doesn’t give him the time of day. But there’s a reason for it. Vasu, who is cajoled by his friends and family, isn’t quite grounded to reality. But it doesn’t matter because he is the hero. However, Vasu is a good man because he addresses domestic violence. He addresses the need to stand up for the greater good. He understands consent. He understands the need for space in a relationship. He might not be a walking and talking green forest, but is definitely a pale green flag trying hard to be better. With so much care given to establish Vasu’s machinations and his universe, it is disappointing that the same isn’t extended to Subbulakshmi.
This proves to be a problem because the superficial take on Subbulakshmi’s character keeps the film at an arm’s length from us. A romcom is only as good as its characters. However, Ashika more than makes up for the misses in writing with hits in her performance. While her role is riddled with convenience, Ashika delivers an assured portrayal of a woman who is forced to make decisions that feel alien to her world. In contrast, Miss You is a thorough Siddharth star vehicle and the actor makes the maximum use of a character that offers him the best of both worlds.
Siddharth has to dial up the charm as often as he has to dial up the OTT-ness required in masala films. He gets the BIG villains to fight off. He gets to dance. He gets drunk. He gets to dance while drunk. He gets to walk in slo-mo. He gets to fight in slo-mo. He gets to kick people through glass windows. He gets to be the saviour. He also gets to be surrounded by friends who seemingly have nothing better to do but be around him come what may. Although this does give us some hilarious sequences featuring the likes of the ever-dependable Karunakaran and Bala Saravanan.
In addition, he also gets to be the soft-spoken man who understands Subbulakshmi’s predicament. He also gets to be the man who knows when to step back, and when to give it his all in a relationship. In a very cute moment, he gets his own ‘Enakke Shutter-a’ kind of a moment albeit in a different setting altogether.
Listening to the songs play out, it reminded me of his work from Thirumanam Enum Nikkah, another layered romcom that was elevated by Ghibran’s music. Here too, Ghibran plays to his strengths, and ensures that we might be distracted due to the placements of the songs, but never disengaged from the narrative. Another aspect of the film that really stood out was the little writing flourishes that are peppered throughout the film. Take, for instance, the scene where Vasu and Subbulakshmi get blessings from a random woman, who wasn’t introduced to us before in the narrative. She plays an important part soon after, but her connection to the story is just suggested and not pronounced. The same thing with the cyclical nature of the story, and how Rajasekar connects the opening voiceover of the film to the post-climactic stretch.
Rajasekar’s previous works — Mapla Singam and Kalathil Sandhippom — might not have made a major splash at the box-office or become the pride of Tamil cinema. But that wasn’t the intention of these films either. To give credit where it is due, Rajasekar’s evolution as a writer and a filmmaker points to his penchant for listening to the criticisms and learning from mistakes. Despite the fantastic premise, Miss You is firmly grounded, by design. But it definitely delivers by keeping the smiles coming even if the emotional connection goes missing for long stretches of time. It makes us think if we care for the characters because they are well-written or well-performed. But make no mistake, the care is there.
ALSO READ: Siddharth dismisses Pushpa 2’s Patna event turnout as just marketing: ‘Crowds don’t reflect quality’
This need for care is essentially the theme of Miss You, which in its barebones form simply asks three questions to people in relationships. Do we listen enough? Do we observe enough? Do we understand enough? If we try to listen, observe, and understand Miss You, the answer is loud and clear. It is all in the efforts, and on that front, Miss You doesn’t miss out on much.
Miss You Movie Cast: Siddharth, Ashika Ranganath, Karunakaran, Bala Saravanan
Miss You Movie Director: N Rajasekar
Miss You Movie Rating: 3 stars
Why should you buy our Subscription?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be misled and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package
