Shankar, one of the most successful directors of Kollywood, makes his first remake attempt with Nanban, a campus story of three students dealing with the drawbacks of the Indian educational system and parental pressure on studies.

Nanban opens with two friends Venkatramakrishnan & Sevalkodi Senthil getting news about their missing friend Panchavan Parivendan. They embark on a journey to find their best friend. The entire movie is based on the college life of the trio, which is presented in the form of flashbacks.

Every frame engages us by providing great fun with fantastic thoughts. One can thank the excellent screenplay and the brilliant dialogues! There are many hilarious sequences throughout the movie. Perfect casting and great characterization are the biggest strengths of the movie. The scene in which Vijay converts a Vacuum cleaner into a suction device for delivering a baby is worthy of mention.

Vijay reprises Aamir Khan's role well, performing wonderfully in his very own style. Much like last Pongal's Kaavalan, there are no heroism scenes or punch dialogues in Nanban. Undoubtedly, Vijay is the ultimate show stealer! Jiiva plays Sharman Joshi's role and does well with his body language & voice modulation. Srikanth replaces Madhavan and he also scores well.

Ileana looks impressive, shining whenever she appears on screen. Sathyaraj proves himself as a versatile actor by playing the role of a strict professor with some fantastic mannerisms & a realistic performance. Sathyan deserves applause too for utilizing the opportunity. SJ Surya and Vijay Vasanth are in guest roles.

Background score by Harris Jayaraj helps to give the right feel to the visuals. En Frienda Pola and Asku Laska are the good song numbers. Manoj Paramahamsa's cinematography is top-notch!

Director Shankar successfully remakes the sensational Bollywood hit 3 idiots, which was directed by Rajkumar Hirani, without any change in the story or screenplay. The song picturization is the only reminder that we are watching a Shankar movie! He could have removed the logical loop holes though. For instance, it is shocking how Senthil and Venkat are unable to find the address of Panchavan Parivendan while their professor Virumandi Santhanam knows Pari's family details.

Good casting, a great script, and thoughtful yet enjoyable sequences have enough magic in them to engage us for each of those 190 minutes! Nanban is a certain Must Watch, just head out to the movie and enjoy!