Miss You Movie Review: Siddharth and Ashika Ranganath shine in this tale of love of modern complication with age-old solution

2.5/5

Miss You Story

An earnest and aspiring filmmaker Vasu (Siddharth) falls in love with Subbu (Ashika Ranganath) after getting to see her be a fiercely independent and participative woman with a voice of her own. But as he proposes to her, she dismisses it, only for him to realize that she is the very same woman he had despised and had a past with. What was their previous connection and what is in store for Vasu and Subbu? Will a cup of coffee solve their equation?

Also read: Actor Siddharth Interview: 'I waited but my re-launch had to come from me through Chithha' | EXCLUSIVE 

Miss You Review

One of the things about the film, Miss You I totally enjoyed is how self-aware the film is in parts. There is a very stereotypical situation where the hero’s (Vasu) friends make him see the heroine (Subbu) at a wedding as the latter is put in a song-and-dance situation and interacts with children playfully. What is not there for the hero not to fall in love with the heroine who exhibits innocence and childishness you may think? But there it is when the hero says why would a grown-up woman want to act childish at a public gathering? Logically, you cannot argue with that point even as cinema conveniently makes you forget most times with the candy-flossed “cute and bubbly” heroine templates. And when the hero, Siddharth in this case, is asked by his friends why he doesn’t find Subbu (Ashika Ranganath) appropriate, the hero in a self-aware meta-reference says how he is no new face to the “cute and bubbly” era, given how it took a long for the “chocolate boy” tag to be shed for Siddharth. Miss You is a film that may have taken inspiration from some films like Deepavali but shows an earnest attempt to tell a story that is engaging and entertaining to some extent. However, it does not seem to be fully able to achieve it.

There are largely some wholesome moments that talk about the real complications of marriage from the lens of today’s perspective. Like, when Vasu says a bad marriage is not only when it is violent and aggressive, but also when two people cannot live comfortably with each other, or the heartening moment when Subbu sings Aasai Mugam Marandhu Pochu which fits aptly to the situation. But the film is also quick to sabotage itself with situations and songs that are very impulsive and jarring. When Vasu meets Bobby (Karunakaran) at a railway station where the latter is ruing about his former lover, a quick advice from Vasu lights up Bobby and they soon turn into buddies as if they are known for their lifetime. In another instance, a song brandishes lyrics that go, “Aambalaiya porandadhu marakanum, pombalaye nenacha manasu puttu pottu norkanum (you need to forget that you are born as a man, you need to break the lock of your heart that thinks of women), which makes one question where the loyalty of the film lies.

Miss You has enough and more for both the leads. If Subbu remains unhinged and unfazed despite the turmoil of emotions, Vasu is an aspiring filmmaker who is the one bringing this change to her. In a very comfortable way, Subbu’s career and the need to establish it takes a backseat, and so does the briefing of Vasu be an aspiring filmmaker is sporadically peppered until the end when his profession comes to the rescue. But, as the first half establishes that Subbu is an auditor, the story gradually seems to forget to give its heroine a profession. Ashika and Siddharth play their parts well, and so do the supporting cast members like Bala Saravanan and Karunakaran. But Miss You needed more consistency, even as the film never attempts to give in to the monotonous narrative. The efforts are visible, and it only needed a little more fleshed-out writing, Miss You would have been nearly flawless. How would two individuals who once felt are misfits to each other, gain that spark of love again? Or was there a spark in the first place? Miss You doesn’t seem to have answers for these.

Also read: Miss You OTT partner: Siddharth and Ashika Ranganath’s romance drama to stream HERE 

Miss You Verdict

Miss You is a film that you would not regret watching. It is a film about love and how two individuals deal with contrasting personalities. The path they tread may not be the most layered and intricate, but never attempt to be short of being earnest. A few missteps in Miss You are visible, but the film largely tries to be a chirpy tale of love.