Nanban

Crazy chums cacophony

Tamil (U/A)
Director: S Shankar
Cast: Vijay, Jeeva, Srikanth, Ileana D’Cruz, Sathyan,
Sathyaraj

This Tamil rendition of Rajkumar Hirani’s super-duper 2009 3 Idiots is a big deal. Virtually a carbon copy of the blockbuster, it’s only novelty is a few cosmetic changes here and there and that Tamil audiences may savour more favourably it being in their tongue.

Having said that Shankar,  however, ensures that Nanban does not pale in its pull power with the original, and successfully pulls it off without much ado or adventure.

Paari aka Panchavan Paarivendan, engineering sophomore at Ideal Engineering College, is your proverbial rebel. While he is not against education per se, he, however, has one big axe to grind with the system. However, friends Venkatraman and Sevarkodi Senthil believe in sincerely passing the exams. Into this cocktail of characters are Silencer, an irksome know-it-all, and the demonly principal in Virumandi Sandhanam aka Virus.

Adding to the caper is the romance between Riya, the principal’s pretty lass, and Paari. While Vijay eases his way into his character Paari all felicity, Jeeva and Srikanth provide perfect foil. Ileana sadly is no Kareena Kapoor. Despite its deja vu feel, Shankar’s deft touch carries the day.