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Ace director Shankar has come up with Nanbaan, the remake of the Hindi blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’. Nanbaan has been dubbed into Telugu as ‘Snehitudu’ and the film has released across Andhra Pradesh today. Vijay,Jiva, Sri Ram and Ileana are the lead actors in this film. Music has been composed by Harris Jayaraj. The movie’s Telugu rights have been bought by Dil Raju. Let us see how the movie stacks up.

Story :

Panchabatla Sarangapani or Pani (Vijay), Venkat Ramakrishna ( Sri Ram) and Sanakkayala Ravi (Jiva) are room mates at Ideal Engineering College. All three of them become thick friends but their personalities and talents are very different. Pani is a very unorthodox student who gives more importance to knowledge than marks. He is extremely intelligent and is a practical joker. Venkat on the other hand is a very talented wildlife photographer. He pursues engineering against his will in order to please his parents. Ravi comes from a family struggling with poverty. He is an extremely timid person and his only goal is to get a good job to support his family.

Pani encourages his friends to chase their dreams instead of succumbing to pressures and exams. This brings him into direct conflict with the dean of the college, Virupaksha Sundaram or Virus (Sathyaraj). As Pani keeps crossing the path of Virus time and again, a series of humorous and sometimes tragic events unfold. Into this scenario comes in Ria (Ileana), daughter of Virus. A romantic track builds up over time between Pani and Ria. An exasperated Virus decides to expel the three friends. Will Virus succeed in his attempts? What happens to the ambitions of the three friends? That forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points :

Sri Ram has delivered a fine performance as Venkat. He looks good and lends credibility to the role. Jiva is pretty solid in the role of Ravi and he is good as the vulnerable and timid student. Ileana looks gorgeous and she performs a sizzling belly dance in the duet with Vijay.

Sathyaraj has delivered a good performance as the strict and hyper intelligent dean Virus. Sathyan is humorous in the role of Silencer. Comedy hero Sunil has dubbed for Sathyam and it came out well.

The script of the movie is extremely strong and the scenes make a strong impact on the audience even though they are known. There is a nice mix of sentiment, comedy, drama and romance. There are some extremely moving scenes in the film, like the one where Sri Ram goes and talks to his parents about his true dream in life. Students and parents will connect very emotionally with the movie. The movie never loses tempo and narration is fast paced.

Minus Points :

Surprisingly, the weak link of the package is Vijay. He may be a top star in Tamil Nadu but it will be hard for cinema lovers in Andhra Pradesh to accept him as the lead hero. He has also delivered a surprisingly dull performance. He just sleepwalks through the role and his performance can’t hold a candle to what Aamir Khan did in the Hindi version.

This movie is a perfect carbon copy of ‘3 Idiots’, right down to the mobile phones, cars and costumes used. There is absolutely no native feel in the film. It is hard to imagine why a top director like Shankar was needed for a such a direct interpretation of the movie. For those who have seen ‘3 Idiots’, this movie will be slightly boring.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is decent. Harris Jayaraj’s music is just about OK. Abburi Ravi’s dialogues are good and lend the scenes the necessary depth. Editing is ok.

Verdict :

Though the movie by itself is good, one expects more when Shankar is at the helm of the project. For those who have seen ‘3 Idiots’, this movie will be boring. If you have not seen the Hindi version of the movie, you will find this film entertaining. Ileana looks gorgeous and some fine performances are offered by Jiva and Sri Ram. Should you watch the film? Well, the movie is definitely worth a watch for its engaging script. Just don’t expect too much from Shankar and don’t compare it with the original film.

Mahesh K.S

123telugu.com Rating : 3.25/5

స్నేహితుడు సమీక్ష ని తెలుగు లో చదవండి

Legend: 5 – Flawless

4 – Must Watch

3 – One Time Watch

2 – Wait for the DVD

1 – Stay Away