Remakes are quite tricky these days when a sizeable population from each language actually watch popular films from other languages. In such a scenario what does acclaimed Telugu filmmaker Sekhar Kammula have in store for us with Nee Enge En Anbe/Anamika the Tamil/Telugu bilingual and official remake of Kahaani?

Plot:

A young NRI (Nayanthara) comes to Hyderabad in search of her husband who has gone missing. Soon she realizes that there is a huge conspiracy behind her missing husband and very few people out there are actually willing to help her out. With the help of a local inspector (Vaibhav) she sets out to find out the truth.

Cast:

Nayanthara carries the film on her shoulders and comes out triumphant. In a role that was made memorable by Vidhya Balan it is to the credit of Nayanthara that she has made the Tamil version her own. Vaibhav does a really neat job as the duty conscious inspector who develops a soft corner for Nayanthara. The rest of the casting is a mixed bag when compared with the original. Pasupathi shines in some scenes like his initial interrogation of Nayanthara. But there are places in which the way his character behaves sends contrasting signals as to whether he is shrewd or incapable.

Crew:

Maragatha Mani's score is in tune with the mood of the film. The hotel that Nayanthara stays and some more places do not give you a realistic feel with some of them looking like sets that were created.

Direction:

Those who have watched Kahani will be surprised to see the Tamil version. Except for the basic thread the film is actually a completely different version from Sekhar Kammula. It is actually quite harsh to name this as a remake. This has worked in both ways for the film. All these changes keep the audience who have viewed the original glued to their seats. At the same time the anxiousness to be different has resulted in many loose ends that we are left to connect and these answers that we force upon ourselves are not very convincing.We have subtitles running for a couple of sentences uttered in Hindi in the film. But for the Telugu dialogues which are so many in number we do not get any assistance and are left to decipher them for ourselves. The supporting cast in Hindi was spot on. The paid assassin in Kahaani sent a shiver running down your spine. This happened not because he looked deadly but he looked like just another person on the road and this was what hit us hard when he pulled the trigger on his pistol. But here his looks cry for our attention. The way the Home minister behaves also hurts the seriousness with which the movie is supposed to be viewed. He talks like any villain from a southern potboiler and not a cunning person who has abandoned the safety of the citizens for his personal motives. 

Bottomline:

Nee Enge En Anbe has enough going for it as a decent one time watch. Had Sekhar retained the authenticity and intelligence of the original along with the changes in the storyline that he has brought forth 'Nee Enge En Anbe' might have ended up as one of the best remakes in recent times.