Film

Nanban

Name: Nanban
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2012
Cast: Vijay, Jiiva, Srikanth, Ileana D'Cruz, Sathyaraj

Coming-of-age
Light-hearted

Nanban is a Tamil comedy-drama about three college friends reuniting to find a fourth who shaped their lives. Three hours of warmth, humour, and genuine affection for the messy business of growing up. It's for anyone who loved their college friends fiercely and wonders where they are now.

TMDb rating

3.6

If you liked this

3 Idiots2009

The spiritual parent of this film—a celebration of friendship and the gap between what the system teaches and what actually matters. It has the same generous, funny heart.

But At three-and-a-half hours it demands patience, and some moments feel designed for maximum emotional manipulation rather than earned.

Dil Chahta Hai2001

The gold standard for friendship films in Hindi cinema. Three guys, real banter, actual stakes. It understands that growing apart is the tragedy, not growing up.

But The romantic subplots feel dated now, and it's more interested in style than some viewers will tolerate.

Rang De Basanti2006

Young people doing something that matters, shot with infectious energy. The friendship sequences have real texture, and it captures that particular intensity of late-teens camaraderie.

But The second half shifts tone drastically into something much heavier, and not everyone follows it willingly.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Nanban

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Forrest Gump1994

Both use a present-day reunion or search as a frame to excavate the past, and both argue that the person who believed in you matters more than anything you actually achieve.

The ur-text for 'a life told through friendship.' Same structure (events trigger memories of what mattered most), same belief that loyalty and kindness are the point. A very different film, same emotional architecture.

But It's aggressively American and sentimental in ways that feel dated; if Nanban's warmth feels sincere to you, this might feel manipulative.

Chhichhore2019

Another college-to-present-day structure, mixing comedy and genuine pathos. It's recent enough to feel contemporary but old enough to have earned its nostalgia.

But It hinges on a heavy emotional beat in the third act that some will find manipulative, and the messaging can feel overwrought.

PK2014

A Hindi comedy with real philosophical backbone and the same warm, inclusive view of human connection that Nanban carries. It's funny without being mean.

But At over two hours, the pacing can feel slack in stretches, and the social messaging sometimes overwhelms the story.

Kahaani2012

A 2012 Bollywood film that proved Hindi cinema could do tight, propulsive storytelling with intelligence. Completely different genre, same year, same confidence.

But It's a thriller, so if you want the warmth of Nanban, you won't find it here—it's all tension and revelation.

Khosla Ka Ghosla!2006

A Hindi ensemble comedy where a family rallies together. The same love for character detail and ensemble dynamics, the same refusal to make anyone a villain.

But It's smaller and quieter than Nanban, so if you want the sweep and spectacle, you'll find it understated.

Shor in the City2011

A Delhi ensemble film from the year before Nanban, about interconnected lives and the search for meaning. Similar warmth toward its characters, similar scale.

But The narrative structure is fragmented, which some find refreshing and others find frustrating.

Piku2015

A Delhi film about family relationships and what we owe each other. Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone in scenes that feel genuinely lived-in.

But If you're after the large-scale friendship narrative of Nanban, this is more intimate and domestic—some will find it slight by comparison.

The Breakfast Club1985

Both films argue that the person you become is shaped less by circumstances than by the friends who see you and believe you're more than you think you are.

Five teenagers from different worlds trapped together for a Saturday. No plot, just character and conversation. It understands that college/school friendships are where you find out who you actually are.

But It's very much of its era—the politics feel dated, and the sentiment can tip into mawkishness.

Boyhood2014

Both use time and memory as their real subject. Both argue that a life's meaning lives in small moments with people who matter, not in external achievements.

Filmed over twelve years, following one boy from age six to eighteen. The slowness is the point—you feel time passing in a way no other film achieves. It's a three-hour meditation on how friendship and family shape us.

But The lack of conventional plot frustrates many viewers. If you need narrative momentum, this will feel like nothing happening.