Writer: Ramesh

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Watch this if you liked: “3 Idiots” & “Friends”

After delivering the blockbuster hit film "Enthiran", director Shankar's much awaited offering "Nanban", which is a remake of the Bollywood hit "3 Idiots", builds a high expectation among viewers for this Ponggal festival season. With a top star cast in hand, the film is sure to bring success at the box office.

The story is told in flashbacks which takes us back to college days of Venkata Ramakrishnan (Srikanth) together with Senthil (Jeeva) who is in search for their missing friend, Panchavan Parivendan alias Pari (Vijay). The college principal Virumandi Sandanam (Sathyaraj) believes that to achieve success in life, one has to win the rat race following the standard education system, but on the other hand, Pari uses his intelligent ways to expose the flaws in the modern day education system and gets respect from the students because of his different ways of thinking. This makes Sandanam hate him more. Along the way, Pari meets Ria (Illeana D'Cruz) who is none other than Sandanam's daughter, and soon love blossoms between them. The remaining part of the story is whose philosophy on success is right, and whether the friends ever meet up again.

We see a totally different Vijay who plays the main character without any over acting. His soft voice and changes in his mannerisms is a great treat to his fans. Jeeva and Srikanth too excel in their given characters which add great comedic timing. Veteran actor Satyaraj brings out his negative shade well. This is a second outing for Ileana after "Kedi", and she looks pretty and attractive in most scenes. Ileana definitely has high chances of getting more offers in future Tamil films. Sathyan who used to play small comedy roles, has shined well in every scene in the movie and he fits the role perfectly which is a great boost to his career. Harris Jayaraj's music adds spice to the narration with background score sounds similar to the Hindi original. The songs are choreographed perfectly in Shankar's exquisite style with 'Asku Laska' resembling Shankar's previous film song sequences and dance number 'Irukaanaa' being a treat to Vijay fans.

For those who have already watched "3 Idiots" before, there are no surprises except some additional songs that has been added to suit the Tamil audience. But still you will enjoy the fun ride made possible by Shankar who keeps you engaged till the end. Overall Shankar's "Nanban" manage to provide a total entertaining package full of fun despite the long journey, and sends out a good message to the current youth generation. All is well, ends well.

Cinema Online, 17 January 2012