Vettai - Ottai Masala Tupperware

Let me first decipher what is that "Ottai Masala Tupperware". I called it as 'Tupperware' instead of satti/dabba because the concept of a timid person being police and his brave younger brother acting on his behalf is kind of new like a Tupperware. 'Masala' should be pretty clear. If you are a masala lover then this formula movie (heroes intro song, heroines intro song, 2 romantic songs in between, finally 1 kuthu song followed by climax and action scenes spread across the movie) might be a complete entertainer. Why is it 'ottai'? I am referring to the logical flaws, of course it is obvious in a masala movie.

Madhavan definitely makes us laugh (though not a laugh buster). He is very good as a timid police officer. But in the 2nd half when he turns into a real tough cop, he appears as a 'comedy piece' instead of 'terror piece' except for the "Enakke shutter'a?" dialogue. If the 'thoppai' he has developed is intentional, then it is fine!

This is an important movie for Aarya. He has touched his border of being an action hero without losing the lightness which is expected from him. He was interesting both in the lighter and action scenes. Hope he would have realised his limits and wil not try to be a mass hero from the next movie and ruin like many Thamizh heroes.

Sameera Reddy is in her fade-out phase. Slowly she will become heroe's elder sister, aunty and gone forever. On the other hand Amala Paul in her fade-in period. This movie has given her lot of scope as a full fledged heroine compared to her earlier movies like Mynaa, Deivathirumagal. She with Aarya form a good pair.

Villains in this movie were not irritating and at the same time not very different from usual.

It should have been a disappointment for Yuvan fans. Kattipidi was ok and Pappappa is a decent foot tapping number but none of the songs were "catchy" according to Yuvan standards.

It is director Linguswamy's "another" movie but definitely better than Paiya. If he satisfies his target audience, then we can definitely tell he is doing good. Is he satisfying? I don't know because I am definitely not his target :)

Nanban - A neat remake

Will Nanban be very different from 3 idiots? Did Shankar add any value to the original? Most importantly, did Vijay screw the character done by Aamir?

NO is the reply for all of them. Yes Nanban is a scene by scene repetition of 3 idiots, but that is why it is called a remake. 3 idiots is a movie which can be seen any number of times and it is definitely a good experience to see the same rendered different way in our language (instead of seeing 3 idiots with subtitle).

Vijay is PERFECT! (Mind you I am also a Vijay hater just like most of those reading this because of his many meaningless movies) I would say that even the so called soft role of him in 'Sachin' was over-acting. This is the best simple acting of Vijay after REALLY long time. He never appeared different from the movie as he used to be. He did nothing more than what the important character of 3 idiots script should do. Good man!

Srikanth is another actor in my hate list and that guy is also good in this movie; all in the hands of director. Jeeva was awesome and natural as usual!

I feel that Ileana belongs to "extreme slim" case ;). Elumbum tholumaa irukka but of course she has precisely replicated the cute role of Kareena.

Omi Vaidya (3 idiots) had set a high benchmark and it was actually tough task for Satyan but he did meet it brilliantly. In my opinion, he was the best of Nanban. I laughed more for 'Karpazhithaar' when compared to 'Balaatkaar'.

Satyaraj was appearing like a 'over acting headache' in trailer but I was completely wrong. He was fabulous. Experience speaks!

Manoj Paramahamsa's camera was aesthetic and pleasing. Those elevated views of Pamban bridge, tea estates were magnificent. Frames were fresh!

Harris Jayaraj has done exactly what is needed. He being known as a Copy (or to put it decent Inspire) King has given an almost original songs. Nalla Nanban is of course m favorite but I personally liked all the songs. BGMs were neither out-standing nor standing-out. There were enough silence which itself is a good sign.

Remaking 3 idiots was a risk (that too with a hyped hero like Vijay who is sunk in image) but director Shankar didn't appear to have taken that pressure. He was cool and clear. He should have definitely felt relaxed while taking this movie after a painstaking Endhiran. A well written and established script was in his hands and he just had to present it for a different set of audience. I can bet, not many can do that but Shankar didn't disappoint.

Overall, Nanban is a neat and best remake of 3 idiots!