Directed by Thiru
Produced by T. Ramesh
Written by Thiru, S. Ramakrishnan (dialogue)
Star Cast: Vishal as Shakthi, Trisha as Maya, Sunaina as Roopa, Manoj Bajpai as Arunachalam, JD Chakravarthy as John, Jayaprakash, Sampath Raj, Rajendran
Samar is a Tamil action film directed by Thiru. It features Vishal, Trisha and Sunaina in the lead roles, with Manoj Bajpai and JD Chakravarthy appearing in supporting roles.
Samar – A Somersault of chaos!
Action, twists, chaos, Love and a lot of thoughts make up “Samar”. Originally it was “Samaran” the warrior but later christened as “Samar” after a series of controversies. Vishal’s action thriller releases today targeting the Pongal holidays. Thiru pairs up with Vishal yet again after “Theeratha Vilayatu Pillai” in this mega budget movie. Major portion of this movie has been shoot in Thailand and a few of them in the dense jungles of Western Ghats. This is also the first time Vishal and Trisha have paired up. Yuvan is the music wagon for Thiru-Vishal duo’s action packed film. All these indispensable elements give the much required hype. How it unveils? Let’s take a brief look.
The Plot
Vishal plays Sakthi the straightforward Forest trek guide unconventionally in Love with Roopa essayed by Sunaina. In search of his damsel he leaves to Thailand and gets stuck in a web of bizarre events. Trisha as Maya helps Sakthi who is facing everything new at his footstep. As evident it was in the trailer the hero is stuck in Thailand facing threats, unrelenting respect and as a millionaire at stake. Manoj and JD play the ruthless villains who are billionaires with little respect for humanity and the nature of it. The first half is racy and action packed with rich visuals of Bangkok and gives the audience a sense of anticipation on what’s in store, why, how and a string of questions unanswered.
Post intermission the answers unveiled makes us in search of a fitting reply which was expected and the justification is questionable. How the hero gets himself out of this chaotic maze, what happens to his love, forms rest of the plot. Thiru makes you predict and gives all the twists up his sleeve only to make the audience leave the theatre with a sense of “Could’ve been more!”.
The Cast
Vishal as Sakthi deserves a big pat and proves he is one among the hunks of Kollywood with most of the skills in a Hero’s resume. The movie rides high on his shoulders through the first half and he is seen much lesser through the second half. Trisha looks gorgeous and is fits her role with enormous ease. In the days of heroine running around the trees of love, she has enacted in a role which requires her presence throughout. Sunaina is the other heroine and looks in contrast when we think of “Neerparavai“.
Manoj Bajpai, JD, Jayaprakash and Sampath play supporting roles in the movie. Thiru took his time to cast Manoj who makes his maiden debut in Tamil cinema.
The Positives
Thiru was gung ho about this action flick right from the start of making this movie and does not let you down with the pace of the movie in the first half. Vishal takes a large share of the credit with his looks and takes the crux of the action quotient. Trisha after a brief hiatus returns with a meaty role. Camera work deserves a special mention especially the Forest scenes, Chase sequences, Length and breadth of Bangkok to mention a few.
The Negatives
Music as a whole is a big let down with very average BGM and low quotient songs. Apart from “Azhago Azhagu” the rest of the songs hardly captivate your memory. Manoj and JD irritate us with their no good acts. Though they fit their roles as psychos, the director could’ve etched out a better explanation for their weird behaviour; instead they create an irate milieu with walking in suits and guffaws of laughter. Thiru’s justification of the thrills takes long enough adding a lot of unwanted lengths in the movie. An Inappropriate item song is such a sore to the eyes as it just doesn’t add the necessary commercial gimmick. Vishal trying to give the weirdoes a taste of their own medicine doesn’t add the abundant logic and tit for tat quotient.
Verdict
A Thriller movie is all about anticipation, twist, action juxtaposed with speedy screenplay and racy narration. Samar has all these elements which Thiru can thrive on, yet the end result makes you ponder why it has not fulfilled the suspense and thriller factor. Samar is a somersault attempt in vain.
