Nanban

The Tamil remake of Rajkumar Hirani's blockbuster Hindi film '3 Idiots' based on Chetan Bhagat's 'Five Point Someone...' novel is the first of its kind in Kollywood history. Helmed by superstar director Shankar (his very first remake), a top team of technicians including Anthony, Resul Pookutty and Harris Jayaraj, and an ensemble cast that includes Illayathalapathy Vijay, Jiiva, Shrikanth, Satyaraj, Sathyan, Ileana and several others, 'Nanban' is indeed a must-watch.

Like its original version, the story points out the discrepancies in India's educational system which emphasizes cramming and good grades above knowledge and passion for one's chosen field. Told through flashbacks, the film follows Venkat (Shrikanth) and Senthil (Jiiva) as they search for their college friend who disappeared from their lives after changing them for the better. Panchavan Pariventhan (Vijay), Venkat and Senthil are engineering students who are unable to cope with the system due to their individual flaws. While Paari scores high with his love of machines and lateral thinking, his two friends have a tough time; Senthil is put under extreme pressure to graduate and help his poverty-ridden family, while Venkat has no interest in engineering, his true love being wildlife photography. It is Paari's unconventional thinking and his mantra 'All is well' that helps both of them succeed in life.

But where has Paari gone after graduation? Further details of their college life are revealed, including the trio's never-ending war with Principal Virumaandi Santhanam aka Virus (Satyaraj), an eccentric educator who is determined to make sure the three "idiots", as he calls them, don't come up in life. Also added to this colorful cast are Silencer (Sathyan), a bookish nerd; Riya (Ileana), Virus' daughter and Paari's love interest; Swetha (Anuya), Riya's elder sister; and Panneerselvam (Vijay Vasanth), a senior who loses more than just his degree to the pressures of the educational system. Also, a surprise awaits-- in the form of S. J. Suryah.

'Nanban' extracts top performances from all the lead actors. Vijay has undergone a complete makeover and shines in the humorous and emotional scenes. Jiiva, Shrikanth and Sathyan are perfect for their roles, while Satyaraj does a good job alternating from menacing villain to clown. Ileana does nothing memorable when compared to Kareena Kapoor in the original, but she is suited to the song-and-dance sequences that abound.

The film is slightly longer than warranted- Anthony could have done a sharper editing job! Manoj Paramahamsa provides the right feel as cinematographer. Harris Jayaraj has rendered some wonderful situational songs, with 'Asku Laska' (commendable lyrics by Karky!) and 'En Frienda Pola' being the picks of the album. The "Irukaanaa" number seems to have been added in to appease Vijay's fan following, and there's no harm in that! As for Shankar himself, it is best to follow his advice and "watch the film without any expectations". 99% faithful to the original, the director has crafted another memorable classic.

NANBAN: Must-watch!

Nanban:great movie:) :) after a long time impressed with vijay's performance and the credit should go to shankar for adopting a remake film to such a extent.Though i have seen 3 idiots over 100 times i don't wish to underrate nanban as it really lived up to the original...everyone did their roles neatly .thanks to shankar for reproducing the magic of 3 idiots for Tamil audiences.this film will be treat for those who have not seen 3 idiots.this is specially for Tamil audiences.i have rated this movie 9 stars for shankar's direction,vijay's much better performance,especially srikanth and for bringing the 3 idiots magic to a negligible level.vijay,sathyaraj and sathyan performance can never be equalled with original actors they were natural and at their best so i have not given the whole 10 stars FOR VIJAY HATERS(including me): Aamir khan and boman irani's performance can never be recreated.but vijay done a good job and i felt he has done his best in nanban...so this time we don't have any chances to disrespect him. All Izz Well...

It has been many years since we saw a Vijay film sans heroism, fights and villains – a film that relies only on emotions, relationships and situations, where character is the hero. There was Jeeva of Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Kutty of Thulladha Manamum Thullum, Bhoomi of Kavalan, but they were still avatars of Vijay who are heroes in their own right. But the hero this time is Panjavan Paarivendhan aka Paari – the hero Vijay has completely got into the skin of the character that you forget the hero in him. He is your friend, your nanban. Literature The script of the movie done by Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi has been beautifully adopted for Tamil audience such that you don't feel anything alien in the whole proceedings. The dialogs written by Madhan Karky and Shankar are crisp, youthful and fit in exactly with the mood of the scenes. The speech of Silencer, which was much acclaimed in the original, leaves the audience ROTFL much talked about song lyrics, especially Ask Laska and 'All Is Well', are well brought out in the visuals. Lot of intelligence has been put into the film and it has paid off. Chemistry The chemistry between the lead pair, though they appear together for very few scenes and couple of songs is really cute and they really make a good pair. Their subtle love that runs along with the story is a delight to watch. But what makes a bigger impression is the chemistry between the lead trio – Vijay, Jiiva and Srikanth. It has worked out so well, otherwise we would not have been on an emotional journey with them for 3+ hours.

If there is a backbone that supports the whole film, it is Vijay's role as Panchavan Paarivendhan, which I doubt anyone else would have done with such utmost sincerity and at the same time fitting perfectly for the character. Having played many physically powerful mass hero roles and sweet romantic hero characters, he has shed all his heroism and image to underplay the role of a mentally strong genius. As a naughty student wishing to see a change in education system, caring friend who wants his friends to get the best out of life, romantic lover who locks his emotions, daring youngster to challenge his dean, novice helping his lover's sister to deliver a child – Vijay's role has a lot of dimensions to it and shines in each of it outstandingly. From an uneducated local mechanic to a college topper, everything comes to him with ease and all it requires is a skilled director to use it in a powerful script. And this time, everything has fallen into place which gives every fan the delight of watching Vijay in the role of a lifetime. Thalaivaa! You are great! To sum up, Nanban is one of the best engineered remakes. Disliking a film like this definitely prescribes you a doctor appointment for psychiatric cure. You see it as a copy, you copy paste your comments of hatred usually made for Vijay films. You see it as a remake, you will end up making only comparisons. You see it as a Vijay film, your bias on Vijay will alter your opinions. You see it as an entertainer, it gives you loads of entertainment, more than what you expect. It is a beautiful journey of life that every movie lover will enjoy.

I would say that Nanban is one of the few remake movies which is emerging as a huge response from all sides it has been released.Shankar has done a great job of giving justice to the original version 3 idiots as he has transformed the movie adapting to Tamil fans without any of the plus points of the block buster Hindi movie.The message about education conveyed through this movie is really good and It is seriously an eye opener to many of the educational institutions and family !!!

Moving on to the performance of various characters. Vijay has given his best ever performance till date. He has given a massive come back after some critics against him and also his acting in this kind of movies rocks more than his mass commercial movies.And as Shankar said "After watching this film, even an antivijay fan would become his fan" has come true as i saw in most of my friends.

Jeeva too taking up the role of Sarman joshi, has acted nice in all parts especially in that humour sequences encountered with Sathya raj. Shrikanth has done justice to his character fitting into the shoes of Madhavan.

Ileana's performance looks a bit less compared to Kareena kapoor but has done good in some scenes.Sathyan as Silencer has completely satisfied his role compared to the Hindi version. Sathya Raj though in certain suitations imitates the Hindi version character but has really done a superb job in this movie as he is the best option to take up this role.

Of all the songs in the movie,"Askku laska" and "En frienda pola yaaru machan" seems to be the winners.Locations and camera works in the movie gives us a fresh look to the movie.This movie is the Best Option for celebrating Pongal With a Message.

Finally This will be Super HIT Block Buster movie for sure!!!

And a Hattrick For VIJAY !! PongALL IZZ WELL !!

A Feel Good Entertainer ... Shankar did not kill the essence of original & made this sincere remake .. Vijay did a good job by doing this normal guy next door ,without any heroism, I liked him on screen after 5 yrs. Jiva/Srikanth did their job well... Satyaraj was at his best as VIRUS.Definitely Shankar & Karki needs a special mention for their dialogues... Harris was OK as their no extra-ordinary BGM on few important scenes, the songs where nice.Apart from the hero-in everyone did justification to their roll.

Some people might cry that this movie is a scene by scene remake. According to me shankar & vijay have done justification to their job & did not spoil the essence of original. They have got the original as is to Tamil audience