OTT Review : 90s – Relive the nostalgia

Director: Aditya Hasan
Cast : Shivaji, Mouli, Vasuki Anand, Vasanthika, Rohan, Snehal Kamat and others
Producers: Naveen Medaram, Rajasekhar Medaram
Music : Suresh Bobbili
Release Date : January 5, 2024
Streaming On : Etv Win

Etv Win, the upcoming popular platform is taking steps in the OTT world. Their first ever original web series ’90s is out in the open and is now streaming. Featuring Shivaji and Vasuki in lead roles, the series is directed by Aditya Haasan and has music by Suresh Bobbili. Let’s review the period drama here.

Plot

90s is set in the small town of Wanaparthy during the 1990s. The show centers around Chandra Sekhar (Shivaji), a government teacher, and his middle-class household. Rani (Vasuki), Sekhar’s wife, fulfills the role of a homemaker, and their family includes three children: Raghu Teja (Mouli), Divya (Vasanthika), and Aditya (Rohan). As Chandra Sekhar is very strict, the kids find themselves frequently disappointed due to the adjustments demanded by their modest lifestyle. Sekhar’s strict approach to his children’s education adds a layer of tension. The series intricately navigates the rollercoaster of emotions inherent in the life of a middle-class family.

Performances

90s has impressive performances. Shivaji is a seasoned actor and delivers a solid performance. He is perfectly cast as the strict middle-class teacher and is hilarious with his comedy. In emotional scenes too, Shivaji holds your attention with a sincere performance. It is good to see him do such an in-depth character role. Yesteryear actress, Vasuki too makes a comeback with 90s. Though her dubbing sounds a bit weird, as the show progresses, Vasuki sucks you in with her performance. Youtuber Mouli is the mainstay and performs superbly. He suits the character so well and brings depth to the series. Vasanthika and Rohan, who play his siblings are also quite good in the show.

Technicalities

90s is made on a moderate budget but it looks great. The main aspect that catches your attention is the period setup. The middle-class house setup and the locations chosen are perfect. The visuals take you to the 90s right away and give you a nostalgic feel. Suresh Bobbili’s music score is decent and elevates the proceedings. The dialogues are pretty good but the editing in a few episodes could have been good as the pace is slow in many areas. The screenplay is neat as the emotions are not overdone in the show. The camera work could have been a lot better in a few indoor scenes in the series.

Thumbs Up

Shivaji’s performance
Multiple nostalgic moments
Decent emotions
Comedy

Thumbs Down

Pace in a few episodes
Predictable scenes

Analysis

90s story is simple and does not showcase anything novel through its writing. The director Aditya Haasan takes a series of events that happen in everyone’s life and makes it into a story and sets it up in the 90s which is a favorite for many. The biggest asset of the show is the relatability factor. Most of us are from the 90s and have undergone a series of emotions when it comes to a strict father, love in school, and issues with parents. 90s superbly showcases these issues without beating around the bush.

There are so many scenes that bring a smile to our faces. Aditya Haasan makes sure that he creates so many scenes related to the middle-class setup that resonates with the youth and also the family audience. The biggest advantage of the series is that one can watch it with the entire family. A scene where Vasuki breaks down speaking about how difficult to maintain a middle-class family is showcased beautifully.

The performances of Shivaji and Vasuki hold the attention till the end. The comedy is perfect and is neatly mixed with the flow of the storyline. The love track of Mouli is dragged for no reason and apart from that things are neat. As stated earlier, there are so many scenes that are predictable and do not showcase anything new. Due to this factor, the series gets bogged down in the third episode a bit. There is no twist or change in the story to create a conflict.

But 90s is a beautiful ode to the 90s era and has so many relatable moments that are showcased in a simple yet beautiful manner. The series has something for everyone and is filled with rooted comedy and emotions. Just ignore the routine story and predictable scenes.

Bottom Line – Relive the nostalgia