Nimir is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film directed by Priyadarshan and starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Namitha Pramod, and Parvatii Nair. It is a remake of the 2016 Malayalam-language film Maheshinte Prathikaaram, with changes made to the screenplay to suit the cultural and regional tastes of Tamil audiences. The film was released on 26 January 2018 and got positive reviews.
Plot
"National" Selvam is a small-time photographer who lives with his father "National" Shanmugham. They run a digital photography studio in their small town. Next to the studio is a flex-board printing shop owned by Selvam's friend Sadha. His assistant Vigadakavi is a Photoshop wizard who designs the flex-boards. Selvam is in a relationship with Shenbaghavalli, his high school sweetheart. Sadha becomes involved in a trivial argument with a loafer in the centre of the town. The dispute escalates, but passersby calm them down. However, Vigadakavi appears and attacks the man who had argued with Sadha. The man, joined by a ruffian Vellaiyappan, jumps on Vigadakavi in retaliation. Noticing the commotion, Selvam tries to calm everyone down, but Vellaiyappan, furious at Selvam's authoritative stance, beats him up. Shanmugham breaks up the fight. Embarrassed, Selvam vows to get back at Vellaiyappan and pledges that he will not wear slippers until he has avenged his humiliation. Shenbaghavalli is forced to end her relationship with Selvam, who learns about Vellaiyappan's whereabouts from Vigadakavi and visits the garage where he apparently works as a welder. Its owner tells him that Vellaiyappan left for a better job in Dubai. Despite Sadha's advice that he should forget the incident, Selvam resolves to wait for Vellaiyappan's return; several weeks later, he enrolls in a kung fu course. Malarvizhi, a college student, goes to Selvam's studio. She tells Selvam that she wants to participate in a women's magazine's cover photo competition and asks him to make her look as good as possible. Perplexed at the unusual request, Selvam conducts the photoshoot. Malar's photograph turns out to be unimpressive, and her irritation makes Selvam question his skill as a photographer. Upset, he turns to his father for advice. Shanmugham explains photography as an art to his son. Selvam goes through his father's photograph collection, finally understanding their angles and lighting, and gets an idea. Instead of his familiar still photography, Selvam photographs Malar in motion and sends the best photo to the magazine. Shortly afterward, Malar goes to Selvam's house with the magazine containing her photo. Although she rebukes him for photographing her without permission, she also praises the photo. They become interested in each other and soon fall in love. Malar realises this first and calls Selvam to talk about their future. She tells him that she is Vellaiyappan's younger sister, but his agitation is overshadowed by love and he decides to continue their relationship. Several weeks later, Vellaiyappan is fired from his job for slapping his manager and is deported back to India. The following day, Selvam and Sadha challenge him to a hand-to-hand combat. After a few minutes of fighting, Selvam pins down Vellaiyappan, and Sadha declares him the winner. Selvam visits Vellaiyappan in a hospital the next day and introduces himself to his mother in front of Malar. He admits his love for Malar and asks Vellaiyappan for his sister's hand in marriage, as Vellaiyappan and his mother look at each other in disbelief. In the credits, Selvam is seen uniting with Malar.
In June 2017, it was announced that the 2016 Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaaram would be remade in Tamil with Priyadarshan as director and Udhayanidhi Stalin as the male lead. Priyadarshan made changes to the screenplay to suit the cultural and regional tastes of Tamil audiences. Samuthirakani penned the dialogues and also played the role of Vellaiyappan, the antagonist. The title "Nimir" was suggested by J. Mahendran who plays Udhayanidhi's father in the film. The title was accepted and acknowledged by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by Santhosh T. Kuruvilla under his banner Moonshot Entertainment. Udhayanidhi was Priyadarshan's only choice for playing Selvam, the male lead. Malayalam actress Namitha Pramod was cast as the female lead character Malar, making her debut in Tamil cinema. She stated that, despite knowing Tamil, she chose not to dub her own lines because "my lines in the movie required me to talk fast and had difficult words." Parvatii Nair was cast as Selvam's childhood love interest Valli, reprising the role originally played by Anusree. M. S. Bhaskar plays a prominent full length supporting character in the film. Theatre artist and activist Maala Parvathi plays a short length guest role in the film. N. K. Ekambaram handled the cinematography. Principal photography began in July 2017, and lasted for approximately 36 days; the film in its entirety was shot in Tenkasiexcept for a short bit in Dubai.
Nimir was released on 26 January 2018, and was distributed by Udhayanidhi's company Red Giant Movies. Sify called the film a "faithful remake" of Maheshinte Prathikaaram that would work for those audiences who did not see the Malayalam original. M. Suganth of The Times of India rated it 2.5 out of 5. Vishal Menon of The Hindu wrote, "It might be an easy watch for first-timers, but for those who've watched the original, Nimir feels blasphemous".
