Lal Jose's Malayalam film Classmates, starring Prithviraj, Narain, Jayasurya and Kavya Madhavan [Images] was one of the biggest grossers in the history of Malayalam cinema. In a way, this film marked the arrival of the young brigade in the Malayalam film industry.

It was a thriller that had romance, suspense and action in the right proportions, and that was the reason for its unprecedented success.

The film starts with a college reunion and a murder mystery is told in flashback.

With the success of the film, nostalgic college and school reunions became a craze in Kerala [Images]. One of the most talked about school reunions was organised by Mohanlal and Priyadarshan [Images].

Now, Classmates is being remade in Tamil with Prithviraj doing the same role as that of a student leader. National award winning actress Priya Mani takes over from Kavya Madhavan. Jayasurya, as the wily politician, is replaced by Karthik Kumar, who is getting a break from his American Mappilai image. P Vasu's son Shakthi also stars in the film.

Director G N R Kumaravelan says that he has made a lot of changes to suit the Tamil audience. Those who have seen the original hope that in the bargain, the essence of the original is not lost.