Diya Gangopadhyay

(Might contain spoilers) Despite the make believe nature or sparse details around some of the specific plot lines I enjoyed 99 songs quite a lot. This is because I felt that the story and the plots are a framework for exploring what seems to be the core of the film - a dive into a creative mind (of musician Jay and visual artist Sophie). To fixate on the specifics of the narrative might not provide the best experience, but that does not seem to be what it is about. What is exciting is where they lead us to - the inner journey of the artist, how their mind and their art respond to and are shaped by these various external events. The events themselves then become secondary. The exotic visuals are not eye-candy but abstract and metaphorical visualization of this inner journey. The picturization of the female version of Jwalamukhi and the buildup leading to it, is an outstanding example of this. Sophie cannot express her seething angst in words (now that I think, it's strange we don't see her use sign language in the film), so they find expression in her visual art and is conveyed to us musically. This is my limited movie watching experience is a rare feat to see in mainstream cinema. This is a film about music itself more than it is about a musician. Music is the “hero”. Some specifics of what stood out - the Jazz episode is particularly delightful, with the whirlwind of a song Soja Soja/Poyisonna setting the reel-life stage on fire, and some really interesting musical and verbal exchanges. The little brainstorming around chords is a standout. I would have liked to see more of how Jay's Jazz experience shaped his music going forward. Also would have liked to see how discovering the story of his mother musically inspired him, even more so because his mother’s music is so spellbinding! There is this evocative metaphorical depiction of how it spiritually inspires him and restores his belief in the music that is intrinsic to him, but more details on its musical aspect I believe would have made the climax even more special. Did it nudge him to explore and incorporate more of Indian classical music for example? We do however get to see a subtle and beautiful glimpse of it in the use of the Sai tune in the interlude of O Aashiqa. Now I did think the climax itself was a bit exaggerated. Not the idea per se, I am bought in to the idea of what it tries to portray. Unlikely, but not outside the realm of possibility (there even seems to be a bit of foreshadowing early in the film so it is not out of the blue). But I would have preferred a subtler depiction. However seeing Jay sing the climax song on screen was goosebumps inducing! There is nothing left to be said to say about the stellar soundtrack that has soothed and mesmerized so many of us for more than a year now. However, usage of songs like Humnawa/Punnagai (visually showing how Jay's and Sophie's media of art are intertwined), Soja Soja/Poyisonna (especially how its second part starts) and Jwalamukhi is noteworthy. The Sai song is picturized with the grace  and beauty it deserves. And the metaphorical visuals of The Oracle served as the perfect ending and the perfect ode to the power of music.