Samar

Even though “Samar” is far better than several done to death Tamil films of the recent past, but it stinks of inspiration it has borrowed from Spanish thriller “Dot the I”, on which the film is loosely based upon. Of course the film is not a frame to frame copy of the original, but has a very similar treatment and presentation.

The story follows the sick thrills of two villains, played by J.D Chekravarthy and Manoj Bajpai, who like to indulge in playing games with the lives of people. They are multi-millionaires and owners of a big business empire in Bangkok, where they spend every leisure minute playing a prank on someone and enjoying sadistic pleasure from the same.

While on one of his business trips to Ooty, JD meets Shakti, played by Vishal, and learns about his recent breakup with his girlfriend. He uses this reason to play with Shakti, and brings him to Bangkok, where JD and his partner, begin the game.

People Shakti meets in Bangkok are also part of the game including Trisha. The game goes on as planned and arrives at a breaking point as anticipated by JD, and he celebrates the moment with his partner, assuming all has ended well without any clue that Shakti has plans of his own.

Shakti double-crosses JD and his partner and uses the opportunity to suck them into the game. How did Sakthi pull his stunt on the baddies and what did he do with them. This forms the rest of the story.

While in the original, the story takes place within a film, here, it takes places within a game. In both versions of the film, the villain is double-crossed and made to suffer in the end. Also, sadly, “Samar” is not as arresting as the original because the suspense of the film is killed with unneeded love angle and songs, which by the way were not even worth listening.

JD and Manoj, two very talented actors, are wasted in an effort which forces them to appear maniacal. Director Thiru has definitely not made the best use of these actors who could've been far better than they originally were. This only reminds me of the role essayed by Narain as the villain in the Tamil film “Mugamoodi”.

Thiru's direction is mediocre but not as intelligent as a thriller film would require. He starts off well but makes the film little confusing and less thrilling after a point of time, which tends to irk one and all. Vishal shines in his role while Trishna turns in a decent performance.

Sakthi (Vishal) is a forest ranger's son who appears to love the wilderness more than he loves his girlfriend Roopa (Sunaina). When he is unable to tell her hip size correctly, she breaks up with him and goes off to live in Bangkok along with her family. After a couple of months of nursing his broken heart, he gets a letter from Roopa. She suddenly wants him back in her life and sends along a plane ticket. He meets one Maya (Trisha) on his plane and they quickly become friends. Soon after landing, things take an unexpected turn when Sakthi is mistaken for someone else. A tale of suspense follows.

I'm pissed that so many Indian writers steal plots from foreign films and make such shoddy remakes from it. When the only good thing about their film is a plot idea that is not even their own to begin with, what are we supposed to appreciate? Samar's central plot is certainly good. It could have been a very good movie in able hands, but what I saw today was far from it.

In India, we tend to give too much importance to the twist. It's all about the damn twist. I am not ashamed to have not outguessed a twist in a poorly made film like Samar. With some films which offer the audience no space for participation, it becomes impossible to tell. We cannot help it if the director suddenly pulls a rabbit out of his rear end. It can be said that a good movie is lurking somewhere deep inside Samar. It is surrounded by layers of unnecessary bits. Revenge makes sense, but what's with this defeating-them-at-their-own-game thing?

Manoj Bajpai and J.D.Chakravarthy are the films antagonists. They come across as maddeningly irritating buffoons with a very limited vocabulary, mostly consisting of words 'game', 'god' and 'partner'. Their crazy actions instantly make them someone you wouldn't want to mess with, but it becomes hard to take them seriously every time they open their mouth to say something. Like a fellow reviewer noted, they are a comedy-piece like Narain in Mugamoodi.

In the realm of unintentional hilarity, Samar offers dollops of fun. In one scene where JD and Bajpai find themselves marooned in the middle of nowhere, Trisha appears out of thin air. As JD runs towards her with the intention of killing her, he is hit by an unknown force. Turns out Vishal was hiding behind Trisha the whole time. Dei! In another scene, Trisha manages to chip in that age old "Eating Pongal on Diwali" blade joke which somehow surfaces during this time of the year. Also, every shot of Sriman walking around in a suit will warrant laughter. In a house where Trisha stays with Vishal, there are hidden cameras everywhere, including the bathroom. It will remind you of a certain video Trisha is known for and make you wonder if it is some sort of a karmic joke.

On my way home, I wondered what the film's title Samar meant. Immediately it struck me that it is formed by simply using the first syllable from the names of the three main characters: Sa from Sakthi, Ma from Maya and R for Roopa. Sounds lame, right? I know. But if there's a better explanation about the title's meaning, I am all ears.

You never feel the protagonist's helplessness and only wait for things to wrap up. It is not as intelligent as it pretends to be. It spends too long explaining things which are only too obvious to anyone with half a brain. It holds suspense only due to lack of information, and not due to directorial chops. The music is downright awful and the performances are very mediocre. Samar is a one-trick pony and a wasted opportunity. Samar is sumaar.

Not an intelligent story but screenplay was really entertaining. The suspense was nicely maintained throughout the film. Second half should have taken us for a thriller ride but it just gives answers to the puzzles. Sunaina tries hard to look gorgeous but Trisha does it casually . Do we still need an Opening song and fight for a thriller movie? Lenghty Fights and laughing villains are negatives. Vishal hiding behind Trisha was hilarious. Concentrating more on the suspense and less on the heroism would have made SAMAR into a super duper blockbuster. unfortunately Tamil hero has to win and be above all in a movie- So sad. did someone mess up the story?? hmmmm

My Rating - 7/10