Jaanu is a faithful remake of the Tamil movie 96 since this romantic drama is also handled by C Premkumar, the writer director of the original version. It is a touching film that manages to strike a chord with old style romance. 

We have a male protagonist who lacks enough strength to express his love, carries the burden of emotions with him silently. We have a heroine who wants him to take the lead and waits for years and finally succumbs to the pressure from her family. They move on.

15 years later, the reunion happens. But the sparks remain the same. The feelings toward each other have not diminished. Yet, they know their boundaries.

The story is very familiar but the writer director C Premkumar has presented this theme very well by structuring the screenplay in an interesting manner.

Sharwanand as a travel photographer is introduced at the very beginning and then the movie delves on the teenage romance in the first half.

A proper build up is maintained for the entry of Jaanu aka Samantha just before the interval. And the second half works as Sharwanand and Samantha stroll on a night rediscovering much like in Before Sunrise (1995). 

There are many scenes that depict the heartwarming interaction between Samantha and Sharwanand. With such beautifully written scenes, the film engages us enough. 

While Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha were natural, acted as if they were real lovers, here both Samantha and Sharwanand have tried hard to bring that feel to some extent. They are good but we notice the pressure on them, certain doubtful body language. This is a huge minus.

Plus, showing Sharwanand with grey hairs in beard at the age of 33 seems forcible, just to recreate Vijay Sethupathis look.  

Having said that, the minuses apart, Jaanu has its moments, is very pleasant for its pure love. The slow paced romantic drama will work who like matured romantic dramas. Despite some issues, the screenplay and good performances from the lead pair have created an impact.