Naanga


Naanga is a 2012 Indian Tamil language film directed by Selva, featuring an ensemble cast of newcomers in the lead roles. The film, notably Selva's 25th directorial, revolves around a group of alumni from the 1985 batch of a Tiruchi college, who meet again in 2011. It was released on 9 March 2012.

Plot

Five college friends reunite after many years to help Devi, one of their friends who has woken up from a coma, get back with her lover, Babu.

Cast

Production

For the lead roles in the film, Selva had cast children of noted film personalities; Sanjay Krishna, son of actor-director Santhana Bharathi; Nivas, actor Adithan's son, Muneesh, who was Telugu music composer Vasu Rao's son, production executive Gurusamy's son Vinod and film distributor Rajagopal's son Uday. The film's antagonist role was played by popular playback singer Mano's son Shakir. Shivani Bhai, who enacted one of the heroines, also made her debut in Tamil films.
Bala Bharathy and Balamurugan, who had been part of Selva's Amaravathi, were signed on as the composer and cinematographer, respectively, rejoining with Selva after nearly twenty years.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by Balabharathi. He composed eights songs for the film in the same ragas used by Ilaiyaraaja in the 1980s.

Reception

M Suganth from The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 and said: "While the broad strokes with which he paints this story let you get the rough feel of the film, "Naanga" doesn't really leave you wistful and yearning for a charming, not-so-distant past". The Hindu Malathi Rangarajan in her review wrote: "A host of new faces, a fresh approach to narration, a rare storyline that gives equal importance to an entire group of friends — five in all — decent portrayals, a few clichés and a dose of melodrama comprise Selva's Naanga".