Nanban - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

It is not the first time we had such remakes or rather as others say a successful or a faithful remake. Can't understand what is a faithful remake?? Well, basically there are two things here when it comes to remake. A very popular wholesome entertainer remake like Bommarilu, Pokkiri and a class movie remake just like A wednesday. It's quite obvious here that Shankar preferred the first which is quite a safe bet but a risky one as well because we all know what happened to Sholay. But to put it simple, what Shankar has done is what Raja had done in the past. I am not degrading Shankar here but the considering the films that he has done in the past, he is certainly capable of more than this copy paste thing. But in the end of the day, it's the quality of the final product matters to the audience. In that aspect, Shankar really had cherished.

The Original production '3 Idiots'. Well, first and foremost, 3 Idiots is not an EPIC movie. I would rather say this is an overrated movie. But that doesn't stop the entertainment the movie gave to us. It's a full fledged wholesome entertainer which as Shankar said in the audio release function, will entertain you for the whole 3 hours nonstop. It's quite hard to find out the boring scenes in 3 Idiots which will leave the director who is going to remake the movie unclear on whether or not to cut/remove any portion from the original product. It is also a good gesture that Shankar in the audio release function clearly given full credit to the original script writer of the movie and the outcome of Nanban should be credited to him and not him.

The Blondie

The actor Vijay. Probably the first time, I am using the term ACTOR adjacent to Vijay. With the stereo typed roles that Vijay was doing in the past and the mass that the actor carried from all his previous movies, I guess there isn't a single movie which has done without action sequences. It is indeed an appreciable fact that the actor leaving his mass fan following and gave his full liberal to the director for the movie. I hope this continues in his usual movies as well. The comparison is something you cannot stop and that too for a movie like 3 Idiots which I guess many would have seen. On that note, has Vijay given justice to Aamir? Hmmmm, I would say partially yes. Why partial? I can come in detail on the TUCO part in my review.

The director has not changed anything from the original production. Which is good as well as bad. Good for the people who have seen 3 Idiots (once or twice) will be satisfied that it is a genuine remake. It is very good for the people who haven't watched 3 Idiots and they will be satisfied to the core.

Jiiva, probably the one person, who has tried to be original instead of 'dittoing' his character from 3 Idiots. At nowhere in the movie, with his screen presence, he has given a slightest feel of Sharman Joshi. I would say he is the best cast in the character for Nanban without any doubt.

The Tuco

You enroll all good actors who are capable of doing more or rather have their own style brand. And when you ask them to succumb it becomes artificial to an extent. That's what happened to Vijay, Sathyan and even Sathyaraj. Before watching the movie, I was seeing reviews and comments that these three actors have given their best exceeding the expectations. But, honestly what I felt was they were asked to imitate from their respective characters in 3 Idiots. But I am not trying to say that they didn't do well, but they looked artificial in many scenes. Sathyaraj was pick of the lot where the way he tried to stress 'S' as 'issss' trying to imitate Boman Irani. Initially when he was introduce with the lecture lesson at the hostel, it sounded interesting but when it was moving along, it started a bit annoying. Same goes with Sathyan. His talents are left unused by many directors. This guy is actually capable giving stunning performances. He has done really well in this movie but just because the script is being ripped even he too had to render the same as his character counterpart in 3 Idiots. Had he given his standard way, I felt it would have been livelier and even more entertaining.

Vijay on the other hand, had tried to imitate Aamir Khan but didn't work as expected. We all know the character of Aamir and we all know the capability of Vijay especially in such character. He has given his best in Kushi which is more or less similar character. I am not trying to call the roles enacted by these actors are bad but I am trying to say that the movie would have been even more brisk and entertaining or rather a new look if they were asked to play their natural game.

The Angel Eyes

First character to spoil the sport is Ileana. PERIOD. The runner up is Srikanth. I wonder what made Shankar to pick this guy who is pretty important in the movie because he is the narrator. Basically, he lags in expression and he has got more screen presence where he has to express when he talks to his parents and in the climax. The way Maddy brought the feel is completely missing in Srikanth.

And comes the Legend 'Harris'. Be it his background score or his songs, at nowhere in the movie it synchronizes with the movie. Two of his songs were saved because of the picturization which are 'Asku Asku' and 'Heartiley Battery'.

Verdict

A neat remake of 3 Idiots. If you have not seen 3 Idiots, this movie is a perfect entertainer. If you have seen 3 Idiots (once), this movie is a good entertainer. If you have seen 3 Idiots many times, better to SKIP.

A Romantic ride from Chennai to Madras

Tamil Cinema had History movies as well as period movies but you can easily hand pick them. If you have to take History movies, a few brilliant numbers that strike first are Siraichaalai, directed by Priyadarshan, taking a portion of patriotic struggle in a prison as well as tagging a love story. Also we had many biographies like Bharathi, Periyaar, Iruvar, etc., which again portray about them. If you have to pick real period movies, we have our Hey Raam from our Master Kamal Haasan which was again a research on a truth. In the recent times, we had several 'in-the-name-of-period-movies' like Subramaniapuram and a few others which had very less use of art work but more dependant on Ilayaraja to show case them as a period movie. But Madarasapattinam holds a clear Period tag with appreciable research on Vintage madras.

The story should not be confused as a patriotic movie as marketed or as shown in the trailers. This is purely a romantic story 'PERIOD'. This is a clever take for a period movie. Quite often, when you make a period or a history movie, 99% will fall under patriotism. Yes, even this movie has such scenes but the romance was given more importance and Vijay has clearly conveyed at right situation. August 15, 1947 is THE day for the Indians, but when Paridhi hears about the British will be leaving the town, you could see a sigh! Even in scenes when Indians were eagerly expecting the Independence Day, you could see the lead in search for their love. But, Vijay has also touched many political areas during that time of Madras pretty carefully.

Before I dig the cast, I must appreciate the art director and the whole team's research work for taking us a tour to ancient Madras. The immense hard work in the art direction elevated a big higher with Nirav's magic in the form of camera. Check out the tone of color being used to differentiate Madras from Chennai. Lastly, I saw such a work in Kanchivaram thought it didn't have scope to show the present. Both were sensational throughout the movie. They don't just merely show us the hand pulled vehicles, trams, motor vehicles, etc., but they have concentrated on the tag or the advertisement it carries. Bravo! Adding more to it, they also tried to cover a few political events that happened during that era. We could see Nasser (Wrestling teacher) being an ardent follower of Nethaji, where he still believes that he is alive. And whenever an airplane flies, people started shouting 'kundu poduraanga' to imply the bombing in Madras during 1940s.

Talking about the cast and in particular about the support cast needs a special mention here. Late VMC Haneefa, man, we just lost a brilliant actor! As usual he made us laugh with his remarkable sense of humor and witty dialogues and of course his dialogue delivery. Aarya as Paridhi did a neat role. But the ample scope was put on Amy who carried the movie from the beginning till the end credits. If you know that she dubbed her own voice, she danced, she sang, will you believe? Not just that, her acting was sensational. She did right reactions at right places. The old Amy was magnificent. She had a dignified appearance which she carried very well. Balaji and the other comedian were seriously good in evoking laughter than the so-called Vivek & Vadivelu's irritation screen presence with a separate track for them. The taxi driver did a good role with stressing on donation part again and again. So, the casting was rightly chosen and quite neatly placed by the director.

I seriously had no hopes in the music when I heard GVP. But after listening to tracks pre release time, my hopes were quite decent. I can see maturity in this movie. The love theme was very clever and smart one which elevates the screen. His BGM in other scenes were also quite good and importantly not irritating. First thing that strike me at the cinema hall was the work of the editor Anthony. The screenplay travels from London to Chennai to Madras to Chennai to Madras to London to Chennai. The travel is smooth as a Benz car ride. The connector for the period switch like Sudhesi Mithran to Hindu or the Coovam to the Thames River is top notch! I never felt any jumps in the scene or any disturbance when a switch over is made. Great work in the editing department.

Vijay, the director after remaking scripts has proved that he has got some caliber and stuff. The opening scene seriously made me to think if it's going to be another Titanic but he just erases our thought soon. When you think that he has come to pre interval Lagaan, he comes again and ceases your thought immediately. I am just trying to say that one cannot take these scenes as evidences to equate it to Lagaan or Titanic. Though he still carried Priyadarshan flavor in the movie, I could see a new entry to the group of good film makers.

Verdict - Go for the pleasant romantic ride from Chennai to Madharasapattinam

Review posted @ www.clapsandboos.com