Film review: Settai, a Tamil ‘Delhi Belly’

Settai, the Tamil remake of Delhi Belly is set in Mumbai as “prostitution, gun culture, kidnapping, all elements of the story, would have looked out of place in Chennai,” according to director Kannan.

Keeping the Tamil audience in mind, Kannan has toned down the story. Turning the script from adult comedy into a family entertainer, he has done away with swear words that were thrown around in ample measure in ‘Delhi Belly.’ Otherwise the story follows the original, scene by scene, and Kannan succeeds in finding humour.

Arya reprises Imran Khan’s role while Hansika Motwani plays his lover, an air hostess who brings home a package to be delivered. Comedian Santhanam plays Kunal Roy Kapur’s character. As Nadupakka Nikki, he ends up with tummy trouble after eating from a road side vendor and this kick-starts the plot. Premji plays Seenu, a cartoonist, dumped by long-time girl friend Gayathri for an NRI groom. Turning glamorous, Anjali plays a tabloid journalist while Nasser is the mafia don (remember Vijay Raaz) out to get back his diamonds.

For those who missed ‘Delhi Belly,’ the chase begins following a mix up of two packages, one containing smuggled diamonds and the other, a stool sample of Nikki that is wrongly delivered to the don. Before they realize it, the three friends, JK, Nikki and Seenu, find themselves on the hit list of the don.

Comparisons with the original are inevitable. Expect a large dose of toilet humour but the shower of expletives that made ‘Delhi Belly’ is missing, a relief if you want to watch with the family. Santhanam with his one liners is the saving grace of this film. Arya is good and so too Premji, yet you can’t help feeling that Vir Das did a better job. As for the two heroines, Hansika looks cute and all smiles and it ends with that. Anjali, who impressed with her earlier roles fails to draw out her character, unlike Poorna Jagannathan of ‘Delhi Belly,’ who lent the character a cool and cocky attitude. And, in ‘Delhi Belly,’ Vijay Raaz as the mafia don carried a menacing air about him, a trait that Nasser doesn’t possess. While songs pop up on screen at the drop of a hat, one song that lingers is ‘Akalarde, Akalarde.’

Despite everything, ‘Settai’ is a fun film, a one- time watch. With pop-corn in hand you certainly forget your woes for a while.