With better trimming and a tighter screenplay, Sixteen could have risen above the ordinary. Watch it if you want to get nostalgic about those college campus days.
Film: Sixteen
Director: Raj Purohit
Starring: Izabelle Leite, Mehak Manwani, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rohan Mehra, Highphill Mathews, Varun Jhamb , Keith Sequeira, Zakir Hussain, Prabhleen
Rating: **
What it's about:
Think Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girls meets an undercooked Bollywood plot that talks about chums (a fixation for every pubescent story) and gives the term 'boy bimbos' a whole new meaning!
The story begins as a flashback with four sixteen year old teenagers on the brink of life altering moments. One about to slit her wrist, another wanting to have consensual sex with a man twice her age, a boy has another man at gun point, a helpless girl lying on the hospital bed, with these scenes we are introduced to the world of these youngsters who have different experiences to share.
Even though there are serious overtones of adult themes and issues, the film has fleeting moments of light-hearted banter and high school corridor gossip.
Girls in short skirts checking out boys, getting drunk at clubs, wanting to sneak out and attend parties or finding out things they shouldn't, life is pretty much a kaleidoscope for these characters.
What's good:
Izabelle Leite is stunning as the in-your-face Anu who has no qualms about her feisty personality. Wamiqa Gabbi gives the most consistent performance of the film as the 'unlucky' Tanisha who struggles to understand why life is constantly slamming the door on her pretty face.
Highphill Mathews manages to get the right edge to his character playing a boy facing domestic abuse. The dialogues are real and the generation gap between the kids and their parents has been aptly captured on screen. The bonding and camaraderie between the girls is natural and they seem like real friends as opposed to pretending to like each other.
What's not:
Mehak Manwani's Nidhi is relate able but her dialect and accent gets on your nerves after a while. Also editing is shabby and some scenes jump out of nowhere giving you a sense of disjointed effort.
Music is below average, and the songs only increase the reel time than serving any purpose. Background score is jarring, especially those detective serial effects every time Keith Sequeira's character comes on screen.
What to do:
With better trimming and a tighter screenplay, Sixteen could have risen above the ordinary. Watch it if you want to get nostalgic about those college campus days.
You will like this movie if: You liked the first half of Gippi
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