’’Saamy’’ produced by Kavithalayaa, and released this May 01 2003 is all set to chase Dhool for the commercial movie of the year. Like Dhool, Saamy is an ISO 9002 masala film. And picking up the credible items in a stereo entertainment film is as daunting a task, as lamenting upon the points of a well made movie.
However, I decided to go through Saamy with a countdown of creditable conceptualizations, and powerful performances.
Here we go ..
10.STORY/SCREENPLAY
The story is nothing new. It is yet another fight between a ’’man with principles’’ and a ’’man with principals’’. The screenplay is no different, as once again it is a honest cop versus an corrupt politician. However the interest is sustained with a few twists and turns, and a wholesomely good pace of movement. Even God would be having a hard time figuring out, why the Hero misbehaves in the opening sequences, and why the heroine is unnecessarily tortured in the ending sequences.
09.VIVEK
This time Vivek decides to pounce upon the orthodox Brahmins. But he has overdid his role. Nowadays Vivek has increased adulteration in his comedies, and repeat of his own comedies, which don’t augur well for the stature of this comedian. But Vivek delivers the occasional punches, and sends us riproaring at times, and all the same drives home some awareness too. The bottom line is that Vivek could have come up with a better performance.
08.DIRECTOR & OTHER CREW
The director Hari has concentrated on only one aspect: Entertainment. He has completely left behind logic, pathos, ideas or anything else that would intercept the masala factor. The supporting crew(excluding the cinematographer and the music director) have decided to toe the directors line. The performance of the crew cannot be boasted upon, but is very effective in contributing to the film.
07.HARRIS JEYARAJ
If you listen to the music album, you would never sense that it is a work of Harris Jeyaraj. The music never has the freshness or richness that Harris had incorporated from A.R.Rehman. Harris has adjusted his style to suit the mood of the film. Anyway the songs have turned out to be Super Dooper Hits. The youthful numbers ’’Pudhichirukku’’ and ’’Kalyanamthaan’’ are very catchy, and are chartbusters. The galaa song ’’Thirunelvel Alvadaa’’ should also be appreciated. Harris is improvingly impressive with his BGM Scores.
06.SUPPORTING CAST
The sub cast performance is noteable. Vijaykumar, as Vikrams father easily walks through with his experience. Delhi Ganesh does his role of heroine’s father in an appreciable manner. The villian Koti Srinivas Rao, suits the charecter to a T. Ramesh Khanna is admirable and apt as Vikram’s deputy. It is nice to see Keerthana back on the silver screen. However veterans Manorama and ’’Venniraadai’’ Moorthy are wasted. Overall, the sub cast performance is appealing.
05.TRISHA
She looks cute, and her smile is eternal. For those who expected this girl to go the Revathi way, she is generous with her glamour and goes the Simran way. On the contrary, She is homely and coy throughout the film. Though she fits into the Brahmin girl character, she could have done more justice to her role. She has a long way to go, but she can go a long way. And no one can deny that she is a crowd puller.
04.CINEMATOGRAPHER
Cinematographer ’’ ’’ has done a great deal of work, with his lovely cameras. Be it the centrepoint of Tirunelveli Urban, or the natural landscapes of New Zeland, the visuals are a sensational delight. Illavarasu has done better than most of the crew members, and it is hard to find any flaws in his workmanship.
03.PR to Police
When I entered the theatre, I was gladdened to see a policeman to control the queue. It has been a long long time, since we had such an overflowing mass in our theatres. All the same, I felt sorry for the worst treatment policeman would receive inside the cinemas nowadays (Courtesy: Today’s Tamil Films headed by Chimbu starrer Dum).But it was a pleasant surprise to see the policeman portrayed as men with vigor, sincerity and devotion. Most importantly, the policemen seem authorative and action oriented. After the film, One emotional guy went to the policeman hugged him, and shook hands with him, showing his appreciations for the police department. At least the Police should be happy.
02.VIKRAM
Action and Macho roles seems to come naturally to Vikram. He is totally at ease, and delivers the character Saamy with a lot of aplomb. Forgive his excited voice modulation at a few times, Vikram lives the character Saamy. The expressive eyes, explosive body, fiery voice are all added assets, that help him carve the role wonderfully. It is entirely Vikram’s year with 2 Super Duper Hits in Dhool and Saamy, and Vikram is differentiable and equally convincing in both the roles. Any other actor would have made the film a complete disaster. Full Marks to Vikram.
01.AD PEOPLE
The crystal clear motto behind the film was to cash in the masala mania of Tamil fans, the scorching summer vacation, and the elite position of Vikram, Trisha and Vivek. And the advertising people have done wonderfully well to pull the people to the theatres. Starting from the controversial posters to the classy TV Ads, the advertising people have come out with stunning ads that easily created the necessary impact. That they advertised in newspapers, on the playing of a New TV Ad speaks for the success of the Advertising. The whole unit owes a lot to the Advertising people, because the film’s success was only a parasite on the smart work of the Advertising people.
And that’s all about the Good, Better and Best of Saamy..