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By Taran Adarsh, October 10, 2003 - 15:49 IST
A debutante director, a murder-mystery concept and an actress in the lead playing a super cop, iDream's SAMAY – WHEN TIME STRIKES is nothing short of a risk. But does the risk pay off? Not exactly!
It's the murder of a successful industrialist that sets the tone for a suspense-journey. A journey with events and happenings that keep you hooked intermittently, but the finale leaves you wondering, why did you embark on such a journey in the first place?
A.C.P. Malvika Chauhan [Sushmita Sen] starts off the investigation. With no clue or evidence available, it doesn't take her long to comprehend and conclude that the murder is a planned move, committed with utmost precision.
And just as the mystery behind the first murder was slowly being entangled, another murder takes place. This time it is a well-known actress. Circumstances make her believe that they are connected.
But when the evidence and motive behind the second murder is being uncovered, a third murder takes place. And the victim in this case is a contract killer.
As her search leads from one point to another, things slowly start falling into place. The trail of this killer and the motive forms the crux of the film.
SAMAY – WHEN TIME STRIKES has a few aces up its sleeve. It moves on a single track, not messing around or diverting into irrelevant details.
Malvika's search leading her to various clues and evidences are very close to reality. The precision and perfect planning of the murderer does keep the audience involved and guessing. The way Malvika puts the scattered pieces slowly in the appropriate place is convincing, to an extent.
However, the film has precious little for the masses, holding appeal for the intelligentsia mainly. But, the real flaw, which incidentally should have been the high point, lies in the climax, which takes the graph of the film downhill.
The revelation of the murderer [Jackie Shroff] and the motive behind the murders will leave a major section of the audience completely bewildered and confused. The climax should've been so strong that the moment the identity of the killer is unveiled, the viewer should've been stunned by the exposure.
Debutante director Robby Grewal has opted for a theme that sounds interesting, but when viewed in totality, the outcome falls flat. The screenplay meanders from plausible to implausible at regular intervals. The climax, as mentioned above, is its biggest flaw.
Music is nothing to talk about. The item number is completely out of place and merely looks like an excuse to provide some skin show. The dialogues are in sync with the proceedings. Ditto for the background score and cinematography.
Sushmita Sen, cast in a challenging role, does full justice to her part. Sushant, playing her assistant, is convincing. Jackie Shroff doesn't get any scope.
On the whole, SAMAY – WHEN TIME STRIKES doesn't 'strike' due to a weak climax mainly, which is the backbone of any suspense-thriller. With no hype or publicity to back up, its 'samay' at the box-office will be limited.
  
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