CHENNAI: Tamil film fans have already sung paeans over what they see as a script where nothing can go wrong: the most successful Bollywood film '3 Idiots', adapted from an equally famous English novel 'Five Point Someone', to be remade by Tamil cinema’s highly sought-after filmmaker Shankar and starring Vijay, the most eligible contender for the superstar throne.
Yet, all is perhaps not well with 'Nanban', the most awaited film of the year, the Tamil remake of '3 Idiots'.
The success of the film in Hindi may be hard to replicate in South, and harder to ignore when it comes to the film’s business prospects, according to film experts. Even as the flick, featuring Vijay, Jiiva, Srikanth and Ileana, is scheduled for a Diwali release, trepidation lurks large that the film’s success in Hindi may affect the viewership of the film in Tamil.
Many film experts contend that a remake of '3 Idiots' should have been avoided, the way Tamil directors steered clear of remaking 'Taare Zameen Par', because Tamilians had mostly watched the film in its original already and may not opt to see it again.
While the remake of 'Ghajini' in Hindi from the original Tamil version was a roaring success because it aimed at reaching a larger audience that follows Bollywood, the Tamil remake will only appeal to a small section of Tamil filmgoers who have already seen it in Hindi, say experts.
And the star power of Vijay is not seen as one that can help resurrect the film from this viewership problem, as this film follows a lean patch for the actor, who has already seen five box-office duds recently.