Naanga Review

Director Selva deserves cheers for coming up with a tale of friendship, camaraderie, joy, sorrow, revenge and deceit in 'Naanga'.  Getting the act right doing a period film set in the 1980s and that too involving five stories that meet at one point is no easy task. But a skilled filmmaker in Selva manages it with ease and elan.

A crop of fresh faces that includes Sanjay Krishna, Vinod, Nivas, Udhay, Munees, Shakir, Ashwin Raja, Vishnu Priya, Shivani and Vaidehi come to his rescue. They get involved with their characters and give a decent performance that makes the movie worth a watch.

No doubt everyone will carry pleasant memories of their college days with them. In 'Nanga', a group of friends look back at their lives in the campus. They have an unfinished agenda to achieve which they do after 25 years of completing their degree. With the help of good costumes and music maestro Ilayaraja's BGM, one gets into 1980 mould as the film progresses.

Devi (Vishnupriya) comes out of coma. It is hailed as a medical miracle for she was considered down-and-out as she was in coma for almost 25 years.

The news is flashed across papers and channels. Coming to know that Devi is back to good health, a group of friends who studied with her in college decide to go meet her. They have a reason. They manage to get Babu (Uday) who is in prison. He was Devi's lover in college. The friends have a plan as they go to meet Devi.

Meanwhile flashbacks reveal the life of every individual in the gang and their happy days in college.

The likes of Sanjay Krishna, Vinod, Nivas and Shakir are impressive. They emote well and interestingly Selva has managed to get the best out from the amateurs. The female leads Vishnu Priya, Shivani and Vaidehi chip in with their best.

Actress Kasthuri plays a cameo and her bold performance is noteworthy. Rajkapoor plays an interesting character. Balabharathy has come up with some catchy numbers and a couple of melodious songs are hummable.

'Naanga' promises aplenty. Selva has proved his worth yet again by narrating a feel-good story with rightly recreating the ambience and mood of 1980s. Produced by Cinema Kottagai, 'Naanga' is a trip down the memory lane.