‘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’.

It’s 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 Shankar’s brand on them; after all, it’s a brand that has 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 today’s 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 principal’s 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 Shankar’s creativity, they decided to retain 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 Jeeva’s 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 Shankar’s 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!

A film getting re-released after a lukewarm response is a rare phenomenon. Last time I remember seeing ‘Chithiram Pesudhadi’ doing that, way back in 2006. Now that “Mouna Guru” has once again proved that a gripping story with an intelligent screenplay and narration would hook the audiences irrespective of the star power.

Debutant director Shantakumar has delivered an ace with a no non-sense storyline and an intelligent plot laced with some brilliant casting and characterization.

The story is about ‘Karunagaran’ (Arul Nidhi), a college student in Madurai, who is an introvert by nature and has an unconventional take on things. Sour circumstances drive him to Chennai along with his mother, where he gets entangled unceremoniously in some messy affairs involving the corrupt officials in the police department. The rest of the story is how he blows away the cobwebs around him.

Arulnidhi has got a tailor made role, which requires some subtle acts and minimal performance; though he has shown some intensity in the way he has approached and carried his role throughout the movie.

One of the most surprising performances came from Uma Riyaz who portrayed the role of ‘Palani Amma’, the pregnant lady cop. She has delivered a power packed performance with flair. Her way of investigation, moving around with the bump and waiting at the doctor’s clinic without much fuss, to name a few, all added to the strength of her character and certainly calls for praise. I won’t be surprised if she bags the national award for best supporting artist.

Iniya as Arulnidhi’s love interest does the conventional girl-next-door stuff, but looks refreshing. Though she had little scope to perform, she had her expressions in place and struck the right chord.

John Vijay, as the evil cop, oozed unholy grimace most of the times. His satirical dialog delivery, at times raised laughter. He is definitely an actor of substance who had a menacing job to do and did it with conviction.

The others in the cast including Arulnidhi’s mom, the police officials, principal of the college and the doctor in the mental asylum have played their part with panache and have sailed through the movie with ease.

Technically the film was edited in a slick manner. Music by Thaman is not worthy enough to mention since all songs acted as speed breakers. Cinematography by Maheh Muthusamy was pleasing for the eyes and at the same time travelled along the story with brilliant choice of colours and lighting.

Overall, the movie can be watched for some brilliant performances and edge of the seat narration with an intelligent plot. After all, these have become a rarity in Kollywood in recent times.

Rating:  3.5/5