Naanga

Naanga
Poster
Directed bySelvaa
Written bySelvaa
StarringNivas
Vinod
Sanjay Krishna
Uday
Muneesh
Shakir
Varun
Virumandi
Vishnupriya
Shivani Bhai
Vaidehi
Arasi
Ashwin Raja
CinematographyB. Balamurugan
Edited bySuresh Urs
Music byBala Bharathi
Production
company
Cinema Kottagai
Release date
  • 9 March 2012 (2012-03-09)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Naanga (transl. We) is a 2012 Indian Tamil language film directed by Selvaa, featuring an ensemble cast of newcomers including Nivas, Uday, Vishnupriya and Shivani Bhai alongside Ashwin Raja. 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.[1] It was released on 9 March 2012.[2]

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.[3][4] 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.[5]

Bala Bharathy and Balamurugan, who had been part of Selva's Amaravathi (1993), were signed on as the composer and cinematographer, respectively,[6] rejoining with Selva after nearly twenty years.[7]

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by Balabharathi.[8] He composed eights songs for the film in the same ragas used by Ilaiyaraaja in the 1980s.[9]

  • "Devadhaya" – Karthik
  • "Adiye Pottapulla" – Solar Sai, Cimon
  • "Muthamizhey" – Ravi, Anita Suresh
  • "Enadhu Nenjilay" – Haricharan, Mumbai Sailaja Subramaniam
  • "Idhazhil" – Karthik, Chinmayi
  • "Engay Engay" – Vijay Prakash, Mumbai Sailaja Subramaniam
  • "Romance Rowdy" – Benny Dayal
  • "Kadhalanay" – Mumbai Sailaja Subramaniam

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".[10] The Hindu's 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".[7]

References

  1. ^ "The 'Naanga' Boys". The New Indian Express. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Friday Fury-March 9". Sify. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (3 March 2012). "What's new about Naanga?". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ "Selvaa's bold move". Sify. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Shivani gets a lucky break". The Times of India. 5 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  6. ^ "13 newcomers in 'Nanga': Director Selva". Cinesouth. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b Rangarajan, Malathi (10 March 2012). "Ups and downs, period". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Naanga (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ Manigandan, K. R. (8 March 2012). "Shot Cuts: Blessing in disguise". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ Suganth, M (10 March 2012). "Naanga". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2012.