Nanban

'3 Idiots' was a simple thought presented with great emotional depth and grandeur and hence was super successful. It was one of the most-liked film... read more

'3 Idiots' was a simple thought presented with great emotional depth and grandeur and hence was super successful. It was one of the most-liked films of that year and most likely that it is going to be hailed as a classic 10 years from now (some of them would call it so even now). To remake it is no mean feat and Shankar pulls it off reasonably well despite shortfalls in terms of performances and nuances.

While most would know the plot, here it is for the uninitiated. Senthil (Jiiva) and Venkat (Srikanth)go in search of their long lost friend, Pari (Vijay), who had been such a wonderful influence on their lives during their college days. Srivatsan (Sathyan) is also part of the search but for a different reason, to settle scores. The story travels back and forth in time and Venkat recounts Paris story as they travel to his current destination. Pari, a student prodigy, believes in following ones heart when it comes to life and that is what he instills in his friends. He deplores the present educational system and rubs his Principal, Virumandi Sandhanam alias Virus (Satyaraj), the wrong way with his ideologies. After captruring many hearts including Virus daughter, Rhea (Ileana), he vanishes all of a sudden. Venkat and Sendhil manage to find him at the end of their long journey and along the way, unravel a big mystery surrounding Pari.

It is a scene to scene adaptation of the original, a wise thing to do. Except for the names and one additional song, everything else is just the same as the original. But many nuances that made a great impact in the original remain largely flat. The concept of all iz well, the funny 'uncertainty' of the leads over kissing, Virus obsession over time management, etc, are signature movie moments that will remain memorable in the audiences mind forever. Here, they all are hazy replicas that merely fill the screenplay. Sendhils campus placement interview (a deeply touching sequence in the original) just does not come out of the screen. This way, every scene can be compared to the original and the shortfall will seem obvious. But, if watched without any hang-ups, it isnt a bad watch.

Coming to performances, while in the Hindi version the actors made us forget their middle ages by completely sinking into the role, here nobody tries too hard to raise the bar. Vijay is not bad but remains Vijay throughout. Jiiva looks every bit the part, but somehow, does not touch a chord like Sharman did. Srikanth, though does not have a difficult role, does his part quite well. Ileana, looks nice, and does a neat job (especially the clean lip sync). It is Satyaraj who just does not match up to the original. Though Boman Iranis characterization was quite a caricature, he made had put so much power into his performance that it became unforgettable. Satyaraj tries hard to be him and struggles throughout. His English is bad (the writer needs to be blamed for that) and his lisp is inconsistent and it is only towards the end of the film does he manage to slightly redeem himself. And it is Satyan (playing Omi Vaidyas part) who is the most sincere. Vijay Vasanth as the student committing suicide, S J Surya as the original Pari and Anuya as Rheas sister do what is required of them.

Harris Jeyaraj churns out easily hummable numbers as usual, but no great piece of music here. Manoj Paramahamsas cinematography seems fine. Anthonys editing and Muthurajs art direction seem adequate. The adaptation of the hilarious balatkar speech is quite enjoyable in the Tamil version as well.

If comparisons are avoided, it is a decent timepass flick. If you want to feel really good, then watch the original again.
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3 Idiots which took the Bollywood box-office by storm a while back has been re-christened and remade as Nanban and it was directed by none other th... read more

3 Idiots which took the Bollywood box-office by storm a while back has been re-christened and remade as Nanban and it was directed by none other than the showman of South India, director Shankar.

Its a scene by scene remake of 3 Idiots with some fancy graphics, colourful graffiti on trains and walls, splashy and extravagant song sequences, fast and slick editing, intelligent and quaint way of dialog delivery, high production values all bearing Shankars brand on them; after all, its a brand that had been tried and tested for almost a couple of decades and moreover has the potential to be a sure shot winner at the box office.

A toast to director Shankar for choosing to remake a film that had all the positive vibes in it and also made the right sounds at the box-office cash registers in its Bollywood avatar. A veteran director who had not made a remake until this movie, putting his egos to rest and jumping on to the field with the sole reason to entertain people, would always go down as a healthy and prosperous sign for the film industry at large.

Nanban is a story which revolves around 3 friends Venkatramakrishnan (Srikanth), Sevalkodi Senthil (Jeeva) and Panchavan Parivendan (Pari) (Vijay) and their antics in their college days. The story is narrated from the perspective of Srikanth, who along with Jeeva begin the search for their college buddy (Vijay), after 10 years. In the middle, a twist in the tale makes the movie spicy enough for a rollicking and fun filled climax. The movie also holds a noble and relevant message for our archaic educational system, which no other Tamil movie has imparted thus far, especially for todays youth.

Vijay as Pari had done his homework well enough to get into the skin of the character. Though, he is no Aamir Khan, he had his own take of this character and gelled well with the story. A special bouquet for coming forward to shed his mass-hero image. Would like to see him in such thoughtful roles even in his future ventures.

For Srikanth, this movie would bring a new lease of life, though there is nothing special enough to mention about his performance. He had managed to put up a decent show.

Jeeva, had underplayed his character and had given ample screen space for the other two to perform. His optimistic outlook and the transformation of the same have been well etched out. The subtle emotions that he brought in the confrontation scenes with Sathyaraj were awesome. Hope this movie ends his little rough patch at the box-office.

Sathyaraj as Virumaandi Santhaanam alias Virus was another intelligent casting. A sadistic principals role which was made memorable by Boman Irani in the original had been lifted off. Though the style in dialog delivery for the character could have been tweaked using Shankars creativity, they decided to keep the same as in the original. A seasoned performance from a seasoned actor, who oozed arrogance and hatred with his egoistic outlook and brought in some genuine laughter at times.

Sathyan as Srivatsan alias Silencer was a brilliant selection. He brought down the house majority of the time and it was the character which every student can relate to as many of us have experienced one or two such characters in our very own colleges and schools. The scene where he had to address the gathering was a cracker and it was as good as the original one.

Ileana as Ria was average in both her looks and performance. Though she is an experienced campaigner, there was nothing noteworthy in the way she carried herself and her performance lacked the much needed fizz.

The supporting cast including Anuya as the pregnant sister of Ileana, the guy who portrayed the character of millimetre, Narain as the Hitler father of Srikanth and Jeevas mother, all have performed their roles to perfection and are in the line of accolades. A surprising cameo from S.J.Surya was adequate enough to bring the twist in the tale.

Music by Harris Jayaraj is already a hit as most of the songs are topping the charts. My favourite, Asku Lasku was captured well enough and had the Shankars stamp on it.

Camera by Manoj Paramahamsa captured the plethora of colours used, especially in the college sequences to portray the essence of youth and later did so when the characters traversed the green and hilly pastures of Ooty.

Editing by Anthony was perfect to say the least. Nowhere in the movie one could feel boredom or disinterested. Good job, yet again.

On the whole, it is All is Well for Pongal!

Happy Pongal and Shankranti! view less