Pokkiri (2007)

The remake of the blockbuster Telugu movie of the same name. This movie did the same roaring business in Tamil as well and was a major break for Vijay.

It is about an undercover cop who singlehandedly wipes out goons from the face of the city. He enters the goons' own den, moves among them, becomes a dreaded goon himself and shows his real face towards the end much to the shock of everyone concerned.

The movie is a perfect masala entertainer with all the elements that go into making a perfect combination. Amazing over-the-top stunt choreography, peppy foot-tapping songs, a ravishing and youthful Asin, an extremely versatile Prakash Raj, a silly but laugh-worthy comedy track by Vadivelu, an earnest Napoleon and last but not the least an extremely agile and fit Vijay. He rocks in the fights and makes them believable with his rage and aggression. His police makeover was a big joke due to his unkempt looks and slim frame. But, he is THE single biggest trump card of the movie.

The love scenes between the lead pair are another highlight of the movie. Nirav Shah's camerawork rocks in the stunts. The pre-interval stunt, the stunt in the train, the stunt in the dark room with blinking lights and the climax fight are all amazing thanks to Nirav and stunt master FEFSI Vijayan

VERDICT: Watchable anytime for some super-fast action entertainment. A commercial milestone in Tamil cinema 

Nanban movie review

Nanban is a faithful remake of '3 Idiots'. The essence of the original is totally preserved. The only feeling of redundancy is due to the fact that the original was such a widely accepted classic. Nanban has been beautifully enacted by the likes of Sathyaraj, Sathyan, Jiiva and last but not the least the ever youthful, handsome 'king of the masses' Ilayathalapathy Vijay.

The message of the movie is to see education as a holistic concept and not as just mere marks and ranks. Panchavan Parivendan is one such brilliant student for whom science and machines are a passion. He despises the system and enrages the college dean Virumandi aka 'Virus' with his brilliant antics. His 2 friends Senthil and Venkat struggle at engineering due to fear and misplaced passion, respectively.

Pari helps his friends at all times and shows them a direction in their life and career. There is a nerdy idiot 'Silencer' who is always on the lookout to pull Pari down. Then we have Ria, the dean's daughter who falls for Pari and Ria's pregnant sister who delivers her baby with the help of Pari

There is a suspense behind Pari's identity which is a shock to everyone concerned, a pleasant one at that. As the movie ends, there is an overwhelmingly positive feeling and everyone is happy. "Aal iiz well" as they say ...

Hits

• Vijay's youthful screen presence. He looks a million bucks and his 'spiked' makeover in the climax is a 'sixer'. He is capable of understated emotions and he shows that again. His comic timing is also perfect. Not much scope for dance and zero scope for fights. The king of the masses has bowled over the entire audience spectrum with Nanban. His costumes are casual and envious. 
• Sathyaraj and Sathyan are brilliant and they are supposed to irritate yet, make us smile. These talented actors have delivered spotlessly. Lot of awards up for grabs for Sathyaraj in particular. Jiiva comes into his own in the 2nd half while Srikanth is a limited actor not capable of anything special.  
• The casting is perfect. Actors who play the various parts have matched the original actors in every aspect. Vasanth Vijay scores very well in his brief cameo that makes the heart heavy. 
• Among the songs, 'En Frienda Pola', 'Heartiley Battery', 'Endhan Kan Munne' hit the bulls eye. 

Misses

• The majority of the movie happens between 1997-2001. No care has been taken in this aspect. People use the term Chennai freely when it was only Madras back then. The cars, the brands shown in the movie didn't even exist back then. We expect perfection from Shankar
• Harris Jeyaraj's BGM is a major letdown for most of the movie.

Comments

• The feeling of seeing a Shankar movie comes only during the cheekily shot Asku Laska song. The original movie is such. 
• Ileana and Anuya play their parts in a male dominated movie. Ileana is cute, anorexic and her much hyped waist isn't special. 
• The longest Thamizh movie in recent history. Though not boring. At least the long drawn out delivery scene in the climax could have been trimmed. 

VERDICT

A faithful remake and a blockbuster treat for the entire family after a long time.