No matter what, no review is ever going to do justice to such an awe entertaining movie like 'Nanban'. Directed by Shanker, 'Nanban' is a honest, satisfying and stunningly excellent remake of the mega blockbuster movie '3 Idiots' directed by Rajkumar Hirani starring the maverick, Ameer Khan. Most people thought this going to yet another Vijay movie where he does gravity defying stunts and usual cliche. But, this is different. the entire team of actors on screen makes a bonding with your heart. It is about emotions, that are real and very human. In 'Nanban', this surreal feeling gets a further magical touch in the form of technical expertise and stunning visuals that Shankar has patented to be his in Tamil cinema. I've heard people say the original will always be original and no one could replicate the same magic on screen one more time. I can even say that this is a little better and entertaining than the original movie.
Remakes are always tricky, and if the lead actor is a huge star, matters may get complicated. But Shanker and team has pulled it off well. This movie is a scene to scene adaptation of the Hindi blockbuster '3 Idiots'. Vijay plays an engineering college student, whose ideas are always out of the box. Jiiva and Srikanth play his close buddies in college. A major portion of the film was shot in absolute scenic locations in Dhanushkodi and Ooty. Unlike other Shankar films, 'Nanban' was completed in a quick pace. I'm not going deep into the story line as most of the people would have seen the original version. The casting of this movie is worth mentioning. Even I was skeptical about how Vijay is going to fit into the shoes of the versatile Ameer Khan. Even the smallest characters of the movie seemed freshly handpicked. The Script by Shanker was so crisp and sharp that you won't even experience a single dull moment in those three hours. Here you will get everything that you would expect from a youth movie; the camaraderie will give you goosebumps, the pressure of studies, race for marks, the fun, the excitement and anything and everything that you expect from a college movie. Nanban is not a full length comedy and emotions and there are numerous instances which will make your laugh whole heartedly (the ‘karpazhippu’ scene is an absolute beauty). Nanban is a complete package for those who love good, clean, contentful and absolute entertainment.
Coming to the performances of the lead act, we don’t see Vijay in the movie, he enacted the role of Panchavan Parivendhar with consummate ease! He has given himself completely to the role, surrendering to the demands of the script. For an actor whom critics say stereotypical, this is one role that challenges the actor in him and he accepted it with both hands. Vijay proves his versatility and if given roles like this, he proved that he can deliver. The years have not dimmed his boyish charm and energy, you don’t doubt for a second whether he is a college student; an almost perfect performance. Jiiva and Sreekanth brings in their own charms to this movie and Jeeva performance was commendable. You just have to watch him start the ‘induction motor’! Relatively underrated comedian Sathyan gets a huge opportunity and made ‘Silencer’ memorable in Tamil version too; he carries off the utterly important ‘stage’ scene perfectly. S.J.Surya’s cameo is also quite good Manoj Paramahamsa's camera work was nothing but poetry. Harris Jayaraj produces tunes that are indeed foot tapping.
All together, 'Nanban' is a complete package and has something for everyone. Shankar keeps the tempo and the traction going all through with a perfect mix of comedy and emotions through his patented style. Go, watch it now and enjoy the roll a coaster ride!
My Verdict: 4/5
