Oct 13, 2003 12:50 PM
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(Updated Oct 13, 2003 12:53 PM)
Kiran Bedi please give way to ACP Malvika Chauhan. She’s replaced you as India’s best cop. She’s dedicated, focused, tough, and real cool. She has her admirers – a junior who calls her Madamji, a forensic expert who has cheese sandwiches with her and a doctor who spends time with her adopted daughter.
She’s clever, but there’s a killer who’s even cleverer. He never leaves clues – no finger prints, no marks … no nothing … only one clue for Malvikaji … as for the audience it’s absolutely clueless … good for it … and the whodunit genre.
“This guy is obsessed with time,” avers Malvikaji … thus the name Samay.
Someone’s murdered an industrialist. Then an actress goes kaput. Finally, a contract killer is given a dose of his own medicine. Next on list … could be our cop saheba herself. Malvikaji, with a white shirt, baggy-pants and ponied-hair is convinced that all this is the work of one guy.
Why is our friend playing Lord Yama? The police department has no clues. It looks to Malvikajiwho in turn seeks advice from the murdered actress’ father who at one point was a cop himself, chasing the shadowy figure of a serial killer who himself …. PHEW!! That’s the kind of impact the film has on you. Its relentless pace makes you breathless and does not give you enough time to think and become Miss Marple yourself. This is the film’s greatest strength and … weakness.
Sushmita Sen as Malvika Chauhan is spot on. She revels in a well-etched role. Pity she will not win any awards for this one, as they are already reserved for Urmila’s overrated bhoots. There are other actors in the film … yes … there is Sushant Singh who does a great job with his body language … and the killer … ah of course … he’s brilliant … reminded me of Utpal Dutt’s class act in Shaque (also starring Vinod Khanna and Shabana Azmi and directed by Aruna-Vikas).
Kudos to debutant director Robby Grewal for making a snazzy chiller … you’re hooked from the very first frame … a clipping of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo … till the culmination … an anticlimax of sorts … yet very satisfying nonetheless. Samay is Robby’s tribute to Hitchcock … ahem … there’s also a shower scene a la Psycho.
Go and see it soon. Such films need encouragement.
