Nanban: Vijay is the surprise package

This is the remake era of Tamil cinema. Almost all possible stories have already been made as a film in Tamil or any other language. So the work of a director is very simple – all he has to do is choose from those blockbuster old Tamil films or the present Hindi, Telugu films etc. If he selects a classic Tamil film, he has to re-write the script, screenplay and all the technical aspects. But if he chooses to remake any recently released other language film, all he has to do is to translate the dialogues to Tamil and the film is ready to release. Nanban falls in the second category.

The film has all the big names in the industry which itself is a gate pass for a blockbuster. But does Nanban deserve to be a blockbuster? The answer is yes!  Normally expectations from Tamil audience for remake films are low. One of the reasons is that they already know the storyline. If the storyline is good, whatever be the language, the film must be a hit. The story of 3 idiots is the best example for that.

Three engineering college friends. All of them have different dreams – one dreams to change the education system but loves engineering; one is passionate about photography but pursues engineering due to parental pressure; one has the responsibility of managing a family but is always afraid of his future. Will the trio achieve their dreams? This is the plot of Nanban with some comedy, romance, twists and turns sprinkled perfectly all over the film.

Every single person has done justice to his role. And that is what one expects from a Shankar film. You can’t find a single person who does not fit in the role that is assigned for them.

When the task of remake was given to Shankar by the Gemini film circuit, the hero was already decided as Vijay.  Shankar was given the task of choosing the rest of the crew. And after seeing the film it is clear that no one could have done a better casting than this. Of the three heroes, Jeeva is the one who stands on top. This is proved when Sharman Joshi himself appreciated him after seeing the film. One could not tell a single scene which he has not performed well. The induction motor scene, interview scene and the hospital scene are some of the examples. Though Shrikanth has not touched Madhavan’s level, one must accept that he has done justice to his role. No flaws and no extraordinary performance. Still the scene with his Dad in second half deserves a standing ovation. Though many felt that Sathyan was the surprise package of the film, I would say that Vijay is the surprise package. After films like Villu, Sura, Velayutham etc. this might be his breakthrough in the off-commercial line.  This is one of his best films and his number of haters will be reduced if he does not go in the full and full commercial line again. He stands out in his dance (as always!) . Even though he has just re-created the magic of Aamir, not every Tom, Dick and Harry could have done that. It takes some experience and talent and Vijay has done a perfect job making the audience feel that he fits perfectly for that role.

More than the heroes, its Sathyan who is appreciated much for his out of the blue performance. After announcing Sathyan for his film, not even a single person had faith in him but he has overcome all the criticisms and stands out in his mere presence on the screen. The speech scene is just one example. Sathyaraj as Virumandi Santhanam a.k.a Virus yet again gives his best. He proves his experience with his yet another versatile performance. Though Ileana doesn’t get much screen space, the scenes in which she is present have given her a platform for giving her best . Unfortunately she hasn’t used that opportunity well.  She was no match with the performances of the others present in the screen. Subtle acting with perfect expressions for all the scenes make Nanban one of the best films ever.

The songs were chartbusters even before the release of the film and now after the visual grandeur from Shankar, the songs will prove to stay in many peoples’ playlist for a longer time. But Harris’ BGM  is yet again a let-down. Normally it takes not more than 1-2 weeks from the songs release for the audience to find the songs from which his songs are copied. Till now only 3 songs have been proved to have been plagiarised. But Harris never fails to please one’s ears with his each end every composition. This album will also be a one of his best. Madan Karki is the present youth sensation for all the young poets out there. He proves his talent in both songs and the dialogues. The most expected scene was the speech by Silencer and he has stood up to its expectation with his flawless writing. He and his Dad continue to give new Tamil terms to the audience.

There is not much work for the technicians, editors, art directors etc. when compared to other Shankar films as all they have to do is recreate the things in 3 idiots. But recreating is itself a very hectic job and they have done it perfectly. No one could have done it better. The camera, editing, art direction, locations etc.  – they were all perfect. The only extra work the technicians have to do is the songs and as Shankar is known for his expertise in songs, they blend with the story perfectly.  Aska Laska is an example for that.

Though there are many positives in Nanban, some negatives are very explicit. One of those is the slow dialogue rendering of Vijay. Especially in the scene where he tells the definition of a book.  After seeing the Aamir version of that scene, this just proves to be a blunder. And the expression that Vijay gives while Sathyan is telling the definition of a machine. Shankar could have avoided these things knowing that these won’t suit for Vijay.

Too much positives and very less negatives which is the perfect mixture for a Tamil film to be a hit and Nanban being the very first film of 2012 becomes one of the top contenders for the top of 2012. Will it be the best of 2012? We still have to wait 12 months to find the answer for that question.

[rating:1]