90 ML Movie Review: This Oviya-starrer is a refreshing fun-filled toast to female friendship

In eight cases out of ten in Tamil cinema, a woman tends to be the reason behind a man getting drunk. In the other two cases, more often than not, it is for the man to summon the required bravado to drop truth bombs.

While the women in 90 ML do drink due to the men in their lives, director Anita Udeep, or as she is referred to in the film, Alagiya Asura, is more interested in dropping those T-bombs, and she has used Oviya, alcohol, ganja, and other influencers to good effect to do the same on a completely unsuspecting audience.

You see, the trailer of the film was misleading, and the audience walked into the theatres to see a female version of Hara Hara Mahadevaki or an Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuththu. But 90 ML is not a crass representation of today’s youth, and thankfully, does not take the route of vulgarity to talk about things like sex, sexuality, and most importantly, female friendship. However, it is understandable why the trailer was cut in a particular way. When Oviya is the only known face in your cast, and with an unconventional theme in hand, the makers would surely do everything that was needed for a grand opening.

Unlike the trailer, which reminded me of Bollywood’s Veere Di Wedding, the film actually made me go back to the 1994 Revathy-Urvashi-Rohini-starrer Magalir Mattum. I am not saying they are similar, or the Oviya-starrer is a modern-day reboot of the 25-year-old film. However, on a simplistic level, both films do have their similarities. Right from the outsider coming to save the day to the climactic twist, both films have a lot in common, but let’s not go there, because 90 ML, as a standalone film itself, has a lot going for it.

 

The plot is simple: 5 women in an apartment complex become friends and rediscover themselves with the help of alcohol, ganja, cigarettes, and most importantly, each other. It would have been a shame if the friendship factor got diluted in the copious amounts of intoxicants that fill the screen, but Alagiya Asura’s writing ensures that the bond between Rita(Oviya), Thamarai(Bommu Lakshmi), Paru(Shreegopika), Kajal(Masoom Shankar), and Suganya(Monisha) stays afloat despite the social constructs and the men in their lives. Each of them carries a burden in their mind, which gets lighter with Oviya’s friendship.

If one has a disinterested husband, the other has an over-enthusiastic one. If one isn’t interested in any sort of commitment, then you have one other whose life is in jeopardy because she prioritises her commitments. Alagiya Asura weaves these conflicts into the narrative and solves them by incorporating four parties into the script. Each party unravels a particular knot and provides the women with space to exercise their freedom and be liberated. The writing does get lax at times, but the dialogues carry the weight of the film. Be it the innuendo-filled banter between the women, or the throwaway lines about feminism that feels less like a punch, and more as matter-of-fact statements, the dialogues are subdued and risque in equal measure.

One of the other impressive facets of the film is the casting, which is filled with a bunch of newcomers. While Oviya is indeed the alpha female, I am pretty sure most of us will be talking about the other leads too, who put up decent performances, and special mention to the filmmakers for shooting some pretty sensuous scenes with an aesthetic sense that is not often seen in our cinema. It is also important to see how the male characters have been written in this female-centric film. They are not pushovers, and more importantly, they are indispensable. It would hold our cinema in good stead if we do the same with the women characters in the majority of our films. Give them agency, and give them the basic dignity to make their own choices. Basically, write better roles for women in our films. You have a multitude of talented actors, and four more just joined the list.

The music by STR is surely more than just a functional attempt. Just like his personal life, his music too deals with the extremes. One moment, you are tapping your foot with the rhythm, and the next moment, you want to plug your ears due to the loud background score. But, I do believe that STR’s score fits perfectly in the film, especially the Friendy song, and the excellently shot ganja number.

But, is 90 ML flawless? Definitely not. Some tropes feel outdated. Some of the jokes fall flat and are even borderline offensive. While some scenes feel disjointed, a few others seem repetitive. And the writing does resort to convenient endings at times.

However, despite all this and more, 90 ML is a game-changer and works like a charm because it doesn’t pull back any punches. The filmmakers are not afraid to ruffle up a few feathers. They are not interested in providing a half-baked product to just appease sections of the audience, who are not yet ready to see women smoke, drink, talk about their sexual desires, and even sex in general.

90 ML is Vaadi Raasathi meets Machi Open the Bottle meets Mustafa Mustafa — a heady cocktail of empowerment, intoxication, and friendship that provides us with the necessary high, and while at it, manages to sneak in a couple of messages too.