Overview
A journey of friendship and self-discovery unfolds as two friends search for their lost companion, guided by his uplifting philosophy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- uplifting
- warm
- lazy weekend
- friendship movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found Nanban an engaging, sweet, and satisfying feel-good campus comedy-drama whose strong performances and noble educational message outweighed minor glitches and anachronisms.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Pari repeatedly clashes with Principal Virumandi's race-oriented philosophy and advocates learning driven by passion rather than rankings.
Pari's repeated all is well mantra shapes his influence on Senthil, Venkatramakrishnan, and the film's inspirational tone.
Senthil and Venkatramakrishnan search for their long-lost friend Pari while intermittent flashbacks disclose their college journey.
Pari encourages his friends to think independently, follow their hearts, and challenge the rigid academic hierarchy.
Films like Nanban, and why
3 Idiots
shared college friendship, educational pressure, inspirational message, and feel-good ensemble comedy-drama
Autograph
shared campus setting, youthful friendship, romantic subplot, and uplifting coming-of-age energy
Rang De Basanti
shared idealistic youth, institutional critique, emotional friendship, and socially conscious mainstream drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Shankar
- Release Date
- 2012-01-13
- Runtime
- 181 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (70)
Cast
- Vijay
- Jiiva
- Srikanth
- Ileana D'Cruz
- Sathyaraj
- S. J. Suryah
- Sathyan
- Anuya Bhagvath
- Manobala
- Uma Padmanabhan
Common questions
- What is Nanban about?
- A charismatic engineering student inspires his friends to resist a ruthless academic system, pursue their passions, and keep faith in an all-is-well philosophy.
- What is Nanban like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Nanban as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Nanban violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Nanban as mild.
- What did critics think of Nanban?
- Critics broadly found Nanban an engaging, sweet, and satisfying feel-good campus comedy-drama whose strong performances and noble educational message outweighed minor glitches and anachronisms.
- Which films are like Nanban?
- Films with a similar feel include 3 Idiots, Autograph, and Rang De Basanti.
- How long is Nanban?
- Nanban runs 181 minutes.
