Nanban (2012 film)

Nanban
Directed by	S. Shankar
Written by	S. Shankar Madhan Karky
Story by	Abhijat Joshi Rajkumar Hirani
Starring	Vijay Jeeva Srikanth Ileana D'Cruz Sathyaraj S. J. Surya
Cinematography	Manoj Paramahamsa
Edited by	Anthony Gonsalves
Music by	Harris Jayaraj
Production company	Gemini Film Circuit
Distributed by	Gemini Film Circuit
Release date	2012
Country	Template:Film India
Language	Tamil

Nanban (Template:Lang-ta; Template:Lang-en) is a forthcoming Tamil comedy film to be directed by S. Shankar. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Vijay, Jeeva, Srikanth, Ileana D'Cruz and Sathyaraj. The soundtrack and background score will be composed by Harris Jayaraj, working with Shankar for the second time after Anniyan (2005). Filming was expected to commence during late-2010, but after facing problems with casting, the filming began early the following year.

It is a remake of the 2009 Bollywood film 3 Idiots, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with screenplay by Abhijat Joshi, and loosely adapted from the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. The film is also expected to be simultaneously made in Telugu with a slightly different cast.

Cast

• Vijay
• Jeeva
• Srikanth
• Ileana D'Cruz
• Sathyaraj
• Sathyan
• S. J. Surya
• Anuya Bhagvath
• Ajay Rathnam

Production

Casting

Following Gemini Film Circuit's purchase of the remake rights for 3 Idiots in January 2010, there was much speculation in regard to the three title roles essayed by Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in the original. Gemini Film Circuit approached note directors Shankar, Vishnuvardhan and Dharani to replace Rajkumar Hirani as the director, with the approval from Shankar leading to him being signed. Despite speculation that Shankar was set to pull out from directing his first remake as it would be a step down from his previous film, Enthiran, Shankar stated his commitment in October 2010. Shankar was unable to retain his norm music director, A. R. Rahman for the project due to the latter's busy schedules, so Harris Jayaraj who had worked with Shankar in the 2005 action film Anniyan was signed on to compose the soundtrack. Meanwhile, Manoj Paramahamsa, whose work in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Eeram, produced by Shankar, had been critically acclaimed, was signed on to be the cinematographer for the remake.

For the lead role enacted by Aamir Khan, initial reports suggested that Vijay would play the role but due to date conflicts and difference of opinion he stepped out of project, later Surya Sivakumar was the front runner for the role, but due to financial conflicts with the producers and directors he stepped out, enabling Vijay to step back in to take up the project.

The roles of the other two titular characters took considerably longer to confirm. Madhavan was initially chosen to reprise his role from the original but made it clear that he was unwilling to be a part of the remake, citing the film had already "gone down in history". Early indications suggested that Udhayanidhi Stalin had replaced him but the claims were false. In November 2010, reports emerged that Vinay Rai or Nakul were set to play the role, however Vinay cited that he refused the project as the role was not as meaty as the other two characters. Consequently, Srikanth was signed by the production house to play the role, after they saw his performance in Drohi, which had come after several box-office failures for him. Sharman Joshi's role in the original was originally offered to Silambarasan, but after discussions, it was revealed that Silambarasan could not associate himself with the character. Subsequently the role was offered to Siddharth, a protege of Shankar, who also went on to refuse the project. Despite further reports that Arya and Jeeva were being considered, the latter signed on and agreed with Shankar that he would play Joshi's role instead of Madhavan's. The role played by Kareena Kapoor in the original, was reported to be played by either Shruti Haasan or Asin. However Ileana D'Cruz was signed on for the film after attempts to feature Katrina Kaif in the film had failed. The college professor's role was given to Sathyaraj, despite early indications that Prakash Raj would be approached. Omi Vaidya was unable to reprise his role from the original, comedian (Sathyan)was signed on to essay his role, while S. J. Surya signed on to do a guest appearance while portraying the role enacted by Javed Jaffrey.