Vijay, Jiiva, Srikanth, Sathyaraj, Ileana
There is a big risk remaking classic blockbusters as comparisons are bound to happen.
And when Shankar, the film-maker known for his grandeur, and Vijay, a mass hero, came together for the remake of Bollywood superhit 3 Idiots, speculation ran high. Brushing aside the misgivings, it is Shankar’s honest approach to the simple, yet entertaining, script that makes the film tick!
The story starts a decade after the graduation of college companions Venkat Ramakrishnan (Srikanth) and Sevalkodi Senthil (Jiiva) who get a clue on the whereabouts of their missing third friend, Panchavan Paarivendhan (Vijay).
As they set out on a road trip from Chennai to Ooty to Coimbatore to find their buddy with nerd Srivatsan (Sathyan) for company, the narrative moves back and forth into flashback and present mode and thus we get to know the threesome as students of an engineering college.
It all begins with the ragging of Venkat and Senthil when their seniors make them dance in their underwear. Enters Paari (it is a normal intro for Vijay without a flashy song), who, though targeted by the seniors, escapes using his wit.
Paari clearly is different from anyone else in the college with his individualistic thought-process and is a natural genius. While Paari tops all exams, his two friends remain dumb throughout. And that is because one of them is burdened by his family’s expectations and a fear of exams. The other is passionate about wildlife photography and not engineering.
Paari is able to convince his two friends to think for themselves, follow their heart with his goodwill mantra– ‘All iz well’. Paari wishes to change the educational system and draws the ire of Prof Virumandi Santhanam alias Virus (Sathyaraj) who also happens to be their principal. Virumandi believes in achieving success through speed: ‘Life is a race – Run, Run, Run’.
Paari meets Riya (Ileana), daughter of Virumandi, in an amusing fashion which later develops into romance. The rest is about whose belief – Virumandi’s or Paari’s – is right.
In his trademark style, Shankar grabs your attention from scene one with a quirky opening. Thereafter, every single scene is not just relevant but also has a clear-cut objective – to be funny or emotional. This means it makes you laugh or cry and at some beyond compare instances, do both simultaneously. Shankar has almost faithfully followed the original except for the songs and their picturisation.
Senthil’s poverty-stricken family is introduced by Shankar in such a casual manner in spoofy black-and-white frames, which had all the risk of turning into a melodramatic tear-jerker scene, but, instead, turns into a laugh riot.
Vijay looks young and energetic and plays a cool college dude to perfection. It is an all-new Vijay: no typical intro scene, no punch lines, no over-the-top stunts; yet he captivates all with his natural flair for humour and also scores in emotional scenes.
Jiiva and Srikanth, who play the part of Sharman Joshi and Madhavan, are an effective foil and give outstanding performances. Ileana looks skinny and her role is purely to add that glam bit, especially in songs. Sathyaraj shines in his eccentric character role. S.J. Suriya’s cameo at a crucial juncture is delightful.
Cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa is top-notch. Harris Jayaraj music is peppy. Logic goes for a toss at some places and the movie is too long (3 hr 10 mins). Nevertheless, it’s a feel-good film with a larger message and a brilliant feat by Vijay which makes the film a not-to-be-missed one!
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