Nanban

 

Nanban  is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Shankar. It is a remake of Rajkumar Hirani's Hindi film 3 Idiots (2009). The film features an ensemble cast that includes Vijay, Jiiva, Srikanth, Ileana D'Cruz, Sathyaraj and Sathyan, amongst others in prominent roles.

The plot of the film illustrates the embarkment of two friends on a quest for a lost buddy, who was once an optimistic and successful student. On their journey, they recount their college life and special moments that the three shared up until their lost friend secretly parted ways after convocation. During their quest, the two encounter a rival classmate who once made a long-forgotten bet with them, a funeral that goes impossibly out of control, and a wedding they must crash.

The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Harris Jayaraj and cinematography was handled by Manoj Paramahamsa. The film was produced by Gemini Film Circuit. A lengthy and controversial delay in casting delayed filming by a year. Filming took place for a total of eight months in various locations in Europe and India. The film was released on 12 January 2012. Its dubbed version in Telugu, Snehithudu, released on 26 January 2012 in Andhra Pradesh. The film was also screened at the Melbourne Film Festival.

Indian Express reported the film grossed ₹150 crore at the box office. The film did better than the Hindi 3 idiots in overseas collections.

 

Plot

Venkat Ramakrishnan, Sevarkodi Senthil and Panchavan Parivendaran alias Pari are three first-year engineering students who share a room in the hostel of Ideal Engineering College (IEC), Chennai. While Venkat and Senthil are average students who come from a modern background, Pari is from a rich family. Venkat studies engineering as per his father's wishes, over his own wish – to become a wildlife photographer, while Senthil, whose family is poor, studies engineering to improve his family's financial situation and get his sister married. Pari, however, studies engineering for his simple passion for machines and devices. He believes that one should follow excellence, not success, as success will take care of itself if excellence is followed. This approach to studies is sneered upon by the dean of the college, Professor Virumandi "Virus" Santhanam . Virus and the faculty favour Pari's classmate Srivatsan alias Silencer who believes in mindless rote learning over understanding to reach his goals of corporate status. Pari constantly spars with Virus and Silencer due to their differences in their educational approaches.

Pari falls in love with Virus' daughter Ria, a medical student when he, Venkat and Senthil accidentally gatecrash her elder sister Swetha's wedding reception to obtain a free meal. Ria is not impressed with Pari's antics and complains to her father about them. The virus becomes furious with Pari and his friends and tries to break their friendship by claiming that the "rich" Pari is a bad influence on the "less privileged" Venkat and Senthil. While Venkat refuses to break his friendship with Pari, Senthil believes Virus and distances himself from Pari, though they reconcile when Pari saves the life of Senthil's paralysed father, who had suffered a heart attack, by taking him to a hospital on Ria's scooter when the ambulance had not arrived on time. Ria too appreciates Pari's practicality and concern for others and reciprocates Pari's feelings. In the yearly exam, Pari stands first in his class, while both Venkat and Senthil come last.

Three years later, during their final year, Pari, Venkat and Senthil break into Virus's house drunk one night to allow Pari to propose to Ria. Venkat and Senthil, who are both drunk, cause a ruckus and urinate on the front door before fleeing. Virus notices Senthil and the next day, he threatens to expel him unless he snitches on Pari. Not wanting to betray his friend or let down his family, Senthil attempts suicide by jumping from Virus' office window and ends up in a coma. However, Senthil soon recovers and following his recovery, he discards his fear of the future. His frankness impresses the interviewers from a company during a campus placement drive and they hire him. Meanwhile, Venkat successfully convinces his parents to allow him to pursue his wildlife photography dream.

Virus, enraged at Senthil's success, sets an extremely hard final exam to fail Senthil, as the job offer is contingent on graduation. When Ria learns of her father's plan, she helps Pari and Venkat to leak the question paper by providing them with the keys to her father's office. However, Virus catches them and expels them as well as Senthil on the spot. Ria angrily confronts her father, revealing that her late brother committed suicide because he was unable to get into IEC as his father had desired, despite having ambitions of becoming a writer. Meanwhile, Swetha, who is pregnant, goes into labour. A heavy thunderstorm cuts all power and floods the streets, making it impossible for the ambulance to reach Swetha. Pari, Venkat and Senthil deliver the baby using available equipment and an inverter developed by Pari, with Ria instructing him via VoIP. After the newborn baby is apparently stillborn, Pari manages to resuscitate the baby. Virus forgives Pari and his friends and gives the astronomical inventory pen to him, which was given to Virus by his former director, and allows them to write their final exams. After the convocation however, Pari disappears and goes into seclusion.

Ten years later, Venkat, who is now a successful wildlife photographer and Senthil, who is married, has a good middle-class life and works as a software engineer in the company he was ten years ago set out on a journey to Ooty to find Pari, since he is last claimed to be found there by Silencer. They are joined by Silencer, who is now a wealthy and successful professional businessman, who is a vice-president in his own company, while also being married and having kids in the United States, who are looking to seal a deal with Kosaksi Pasapugazh, a famous scientist and prospective business associate. Silencer's main intention in finding Pari is to see whether Pari is more successful than him; they had made a bet in their first year of engineering on who would be more successful with their study approaches. However, when they reach Pari's house in Ooty, they find a completely different man: the real Panchavan Parivendan.

Confronting Parivendan, Venkat and Senthil learn that their friend was actually a destitute servant boy nicknamed Pappu. Pappu, who worked in Parivendan's household, loved learning, while Parivendan disliked studies. After noticing the boy's intelligence, Parivendan's father agreed to allow Pappu to study in his place instead of working as a servant. In return, Parivendan would pocket Pappu's qualifications and after graduating, Pappu should cease all contact with him and his family. Parivendan reveals that Pappu is now a schoolteacher in Dhanushkodi. Later, Venkat and Senthil discover that as "Pari" had disappeared, Ria had decided to marry her former boyfriend – a price obsessed banker Rakesh whom she had dumped when "Pari" made her realise that he loves his expensive items more than her. Venkat and Senthil rescue Ria from her wedding in Coimbatore and they, along with Silencer, drive to Dhanushkodi.

At "Pari's" school, Venkat and Senthil reunite with their long-lost friend, Ria and "Pari" rekindle their romance, and Silencer mocks "Pari" for becoming a lowly schoolteacher. He asks him to sign a "Declaration of Defeat" document for losing the bet. He also sees the Virus's given pen on his hand while signing and dumbs him by telling that he is a loser and Vatsan is a winner. On seeing "Pari"'s signature, Silencer realises that "Pari" is actually Kosaksi Pasapugazh, and he accepts defeat. The movie ends by Venkat telling that Pasupugazh was right, as he said that the one should follow excellence, not success, as success will take care of itself if excellence is followed.

Cast

 

·         Vijay as Kosaksi Pasapugazh / Panchavan Pariventhan / Pappu: He is called Pari. He is a very intelligent student who knocked Silencer in exams, being the topper of the batch. He was having a helping mentality always. He was in love with Riya. Later he left everyone after graduation. Then he is found, after a long searching by his friends, as a scientist who runs a school & is partially a teacher too.

·         Jiiva as Sevarkodi Senthil: He is from a poor family with mother as a retired teacher and paralysed father. He was studying engineering to earn a good job and to get his sister married. Later he became a rich man after earning a job.

·         Srikanth as Venkat Ramakrishnan: He is an amateur wildlife photographer. He loved photography but his father wanted him to become an engineer. Later he becomes a good wildlife photographer and had written several books regarding photography.

·         Ileana D'Cruz as Riya: She is a clever and smart doctor. She is the 2nd daughter of Virus. She was in love with Pari.

·         Sathyaraj as Virumandi Santhanam ('Virus'): Principal of the engineering college. He is very strict and disciplined. He hates Pari because he used to question Virus against his rules or discipline.

·         Sathyan as Srivatsan alias Silencer: A topper student who was very well in all subjects. He was a little back in speaking Tamil. He too hated Pari.

·         Anuya Bhagvath as Swetha Santhanam : Riya's elder sister, and Virus's first daughter.

·         S. J. Surya as the real Panchavan Parivendhan. It is from him that Senthil and Venkat learn the truth: Panchavan's father sponsored an orphaned servant boy called 'Pappu', who had demonstrated his intelligence and love of learning, to earn a degree in the real Panchavan's name, while he was in London. He appreciates what Pappu did for him, and tells Senthil and Venkat where to find him. (special appearance)

·         Vijay Vasanth as Paneer Selvam: a student with a passion for machines. After Virus tells him that he will not graduate, he commits suicide. (cameo appearance)

·         T. M. Karthik as Rakesh ('Pricetag'): Riya's ex-fiancé, who cares only about money and ostentation.

·         Manobala as Librarian Bose

·         Shanmugasundaram as Kalvi (Education) Minister

·         Ajay Rathnam as Panchavan's father^[8] (cameo appearance)

·         Uma Padmanabhan as Mrs. Ramakrishnan, Venkat's mother, a loving and caring parent.

·         Aadukalam Naren as Ramakrishnan (nicknamed Hitler Ramakrishnan by Pari, Venkat and Senthil), Venkat's father, a strict but loving parent who just wants his son to be happy

·         Sreeja Ravi as Doctor

·         Sreedevi Gengiah as Senthil's sister

·         Indrans as Govindan

·         Balaji Venugopal as Ragging Senior

·         Venkat Sundar as Ragging Senior

·         Rinson Simon as younger Manimaran, nicknamed "Millimetre": an adolescent, he earns a small living by doing errands for students, such as laundry, finishing assignments, and getting groceries. Pari persuades him to buy a school uniform and sneak into school to gain an education.

·         Vikas as older Manimaran, nicknamed "Centimetre": assistant to Pari/Kosaksi Pasapugazh in Dhanushkodi

·         Shankar Sundaram as Examiner

·         Ramanathan as Interviewer

·         Shankar in a special appearance as Director in Asku Laska song

·         Atlee in a special appearance as Assistant Director in Asku Laska song

·         Shobi in a special appearance in Asku Laska song