Saamy

Saamy is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Hari. The film was presented by K. Balachander and produced by Pushpa Kandasamy under banner Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Vikram and Trisha in lead roles and Kota Srinivasa Rao (debut in Tamil cinema) in a negative role. Music was composed by Harris Jayaraj. Upon release, the film was highly successful at the box office. It was remade in Telugu as Lakshmi Narasimha (2004) starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, in Bengali as Barood starring Mithun Chakraborty, loosely in Kannada as Ayya (2005) starring Darshan and later in Hindi as Policegiri (2013) starring Sanjay Dutt.

Saamy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Hari
Produced by	K. Balachander (Presenter) Pushpa Kandasamy
Written by	Hari
Starring	Vikram Trisha Vivek Kota Srinivasa Rao Ramesh Khanna
Music by	Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography	Priyan
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Kavithalayaa Productions
Distributed by	Kavithalayaa Release
Release date	1 May 2003 (2003-05-01)
Running time	161 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹5 crore[1]
Box office	₹32 crore[2]

Like other films directed by Hari, this film also specialises a particular city and this time it is Tirunelveli. Saamy along with Kaakha Kaakha started a trend of police films in Tamil such as Bheeshmar, Gambeeram, Anjaneya and many others. A sequel, Saamy Square, was released in 2018.[3]

Plot

Aarusaamy (Vikram) is the DCP of Tirunelveli who efficiently brings the city under control. He arrives at Tirunelveli after being in exile for some years, due to being wrongly accused of bribery. In an early scene in the film, he eats idli with beer and performs drunken antics, which had a negative impact on the viewing public. At the outset, he pretends to be a corrupt cop by accepting bribes from the very influential Annachi Perumal Pichai (Kota Srinivasa Rao).

Aarusaamy's father (Vijayakumar) wanted to become a cop in the 70s, but he was unable to due to corruption. So, he takes care of agriculture as his living, but he wanted to make his son a cop. Aarusaamy passes the TNPSC Group 1 exams, but was asked for bribes. His father mortgages his properties and makes him get the desired job. Being an honest cop, Aarusaamy is honored with transfers all over Tamil Nadu due to political pressure. In Trichy, he is accused of bribery and gets suspended. It takes him about 6 months to prove his innocence, and he is finally posted in Tirunelveli.

In Tirunelveli, he adapts a new policy of adjusting with the local goons so he can serve the people in an effective way. Perumal Pichai is an underworld don who has the total control of Southern Tamil Nadu, both in politics and rowdyism. He is less known in the media so he bribes Aarusaamy so that he will not disturb his business because he thinks that Aarusaamy belong to his caste. Aarusaamy accepts it but requests him to make some changes, which he in turn accepts. As a result, the city is under the control of Law and Order. Aarusaamy is always accompanied by "Punctuality" Paramasivam (Ramesh Khanna), who is a Police Inspector.

Aarusaamy falls in love with a college-going Brahmin girl Bhuvana (Trisha). Bhuvana's father Srinivasan (Delhi Ganesh) is a straightforward government officer who never gets a bribe and leads a noble life and they get engaged. Aarusaamy and Bhuvana meet each other when Aarusaamy goes with Paramasivam in search of a home for rent. Bhuvana misinterprets Aarusaamy and Paramasivam as thieves and locks them in a room, only to be revealed of their identities by the police. Aarusaamy also 'seals' Perumal's gas station because the workers assaulted a woman and others when they challenged them a very less distribution of petrol than being promised.

The ruling party has called for a one-day strike all over the state, and Perumal is handed with the responsibility of Tirunelveli on the eve of Pongal festival. Aarusaamy takes steps to maintain law and order. The strike becomes a failure, which earns Perumal's rage. Perumal was waiting for a chance to take revenge on Aarusaamy. So, his henchmen attack the marketplace on the day of Aarusaamy and Bhuvana's marriage, since all the prime policemen would be attending the wedding. Saamy witnesses the brutality of annachi's men, and this incident starts the fight of Aarusaamy against Perumal.

This incident marks the start of a direct clash between Aarusaamy and Perumal. Aarusamy is given his transfer order to Dindigul, with one week duty remaining in Tirunelveli city. Saamy challenges to close Annachi's empire and finish him in that week.

Day 1: Saamy and police seal off all of annachi's illegal businesses and vehicles.

Day 2: Saamy arrest's Annachi's henchman MLA IR8 sundaram on false rape charges and he is imprisoned.

Day 3: False bomb threats make Saamy and police force waste searching main parts of the city. It is revealed that another of Annachi's henchman MLA Govindan's work. Saamy then blasts govindan's car and frames it as a bomb blast, to save his name.

Day 4: The commissioner grants permission for a caste-based rally, to be led by MLA govindan, against Saamy's recommendation. While Annachi's men plan to create ruckus and kill Saamy in the rally, Saamy plans to covertly finish pending crime-files in the rally.

Day 5: During the rally, Saamy's local friends create ruckus before Annachi's men can get hands on their weapons. Saamy uses the situation to kill 2 of Annachi's main rowdies using his illegal pistol. He arrests MLA Govindan and locks him up.

Day 6: Annachi's men try to kill Saamy outside a temple. He beats them blue and black, and arrests them. He sends his wife to Palani by Bus. In the evening, after listening to Annachi's phone calls, Saamy realises that Annachi has planned to bomb somewhere. He meets with Annachi's henchman who he spared in the rally shooting. he convinces the henchman to turn approver. Saamy then finds that the bomb is in his house. Unknown to Saamy, Saamy's dad has come to his house. Despite Saamy's attempts, bomb blasts and Saamy's dad is killed. The bomb maker and annachi's henchman give statements to the District magistrate, and Saamy get arrest warrant for Annachi. The district authorities and ministers convene an emergency meeting to stop Saamy. They state the proofs of bribe Saamy got from annachi as reason. Saamy counters that, by showing proofs that Saamy himself sent all that bribe to CM relief fund in Annachi's name. After all discussions, Saamy threatens to murder anyone who obstructs his duty, and leaves to arrest Annachi.

Day 7 (Early morning): Saamy gives news to the media, that Annachi has absconded, and police are searching for him. Saamy routes annachi to his own Sand quarry. After a brief fight, Annachi surrenders to Saamy and asks for arrest. Saamy refuses, saying that if he arrests Annachi, he will face dire consequences in future, and innocent people will also suffer. So he kills annachi with his illicit revolver, and burns his corpse in a Brick kiln nearby, so that no one will try to replace or avenge the absconding Annachi, and thus no harm done. Saamy then does the rites for his deceased dad.

Cast

• Vikram as DCP Aarusaamy IPS (Saamy)
• Trisha as Bhuvana Aarusaamy
• Kota Srinivasa Rao as Ilaiya Perumal (Perumal Pichai) "Annachi"
• Vivek as Venkataraman Iyengar
• Ramesh Khanna as Punctuality Paramasivam
• Vijayakumar as Chokkalingam, Saamy's father
• Delhi Ganesh as Srinivasan, Bhuvana's father
• Sumithra as Bhuvana's mother
• Venniradai Moorthy as Bhuvana's grandfather
• Manorama as Bhuvana's grandmother
• Keerthana as Venkatraman's wife and Bhuvana's sister
• Rajesh as Judge
• Thyagu as MLA Aiyarettu Sundaram
• Bala Singh as MLA Aatangkarai Shanmugam
• Ponnambalam as Fake Police Officer
• Crane Manohar as Aarusaamy's supporter
• Singamuthu as Brahmin
• Ilavarasu as Sivakasi Pattasu Raman
• MRK as Narayanan
• Besant Ravi as Thiruchi Gangster
• Sethu Vinayagam as Aarusaamy's suitor's father
• Nellai Siva as Perumal Pichai's supporter
• Bayilvan Ranganathan as Perumal Pichai's supporter
• Cell Murugan as Traffic Inspector
• Benjamin as Kudai Repair
• Vandhana as Bhuvana's friend
• Sakthivel as D. D. Dhandapani, police officer
• S. Ramana Girivasan as Police Insepctor
• Sri Latha as Paramasivam's wife
• Karna Radha as Police Constable
• Jayamnai as Police Constable
• Chelladurai as Police Constable
• Azhagu as Party Secretary
• Lambert as Perumal Pichai's henchman
• Chaplin Balu as donkey's bridegroom
• Pattukkottai Sivanarayana Moorthy as Shanmugam

Production

After directing Thamizh, Kavithalayaa Productions called Hari to direct a film for them since Hari assisted few of their films.[4] The film was titled as Saamy, with Vikram and Trisha as a lead pair; the latter was selected as the makers wanted a fresh pair opposite Vikram.[4] Telugu actor Kota Srinivasa Rao was selected to play negative role making his debut in Tamil.

The film's shooting schedule took place at Karaikudi, Some fight scenes were shot at the busy lanes in Karaikudi where Vikram chased some rowdies, The fight scene was shot for five days, with Priyan canning the shots and Super Subbarayan choreographing the fights.[5][6] Vikram worked on his body for the film, sporting a thick waist to show notable differences from his other police film, Dhill and also put on eight kilograms.[7]

Soundtrack

Saamy
Soundtrack album by Harris Jayaraj
Released	2003
Recorded	2003
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	25:27
Language	Tamil
Label	Star Music Hit Musics Ayngaran Music An Ak Audio
Producer	Harris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj chronology
Lesa Lesa (2003) Saamy (2003) Kovil (2003)

The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Harris Jayaraj. The lyrics for songs were written by Thamarai, Na. Muthukumar & Snehan and upon release the soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. Due to its popularity on the music charts, Harris Jayaraj was nominated for the Filmfare Best Music Director award.

Tamil track list

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Thirunelveli Halwada"	Na. Muthukumar	Palakkad Sriram	04:36
2.	"Idhuthaanaa"	Thamarai	K. S. Chithra	05:19
3.	"Kalyaanam Thaan Kattikittu"	Snehan	KK, Yugendran, Srilekha Parthasarathy	05:02
4.	"Pudichirukku"	Na. Muthukumar	Hariharan, Komal Ramesh, Mahathi	05:03
5.	"Veppamaram"	Na. Muthukumar	Tippu	05:27
Total length:				25:27

Telugu track list[8]

Swamy IPS
Soundtrack album by Harris Jayaraj
Released	2008
Recorded	2008
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	25:53
Language	Telugu
Label	Madhura Audio
Producer	Harris Jayaraj

All lyrics are written by Siva Ganesh.

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Thapeswaram Kajaaraa"	Naveen	5:21
2.	"Ayyayyo Ayyayyo"	Koushik, Shravya, Komal Ramesh	5:04
3.	"Yedalona Yedalona"	Harini	5:25
4.	"Pelli Pelli"	Tippu, Srilekha Parthasarathy	4:34
5.	"Vepachettu"	Tippu	05:29
Total length:			25:53

Release

Critical reception

Sify wrote:"The patchy storyline merely serves as a pretext to spark off several skirmishes and bombastic dialogues. Ultimately it is Vikram who dominates this action movie. In fact he is the mainstay of the picture [sic] Director Hari packs in a sting, but Saamy is strictly for the no holds barred action addicts".Heroine Trisha also received praise from the critics:" Trisha is appealingly sensual and looks glamarous as the brahmin girl Bhuvana and brings out the nuance of her character well."[9] Her performance in the song Pudichirikku made her a sex symbol among the navel fetish community."Who can forget the song Pudichirukku… from Saamy where she displays oodles of sensuousness and glamour in a leather mini skirt?"[10] Bizhat called it:"taut, fully engaging actioner".[11] Hindu wrote:"Kavithalaya's Saami should follow the Dhil, Dhool line. Vikram's daredevilry and macho appeal ought to go down well with the masses. His presence of mind and intelligence are bound to make an impression on those who expect something more".[12]

Box office

Saamy was released approximately in 100 screens in Tamil Nadu. The film had a huge opening as it was a summer vacation for the Tamil audiences. Theatres in Chennai had almost 100% occupancies and the film recovered all its budget within 4 to 5 days.[13] The film sold 1 crore tickets in Tamil Nadu box office netting ₹32 crore in its lifetime run.

Dubbed versions and remakes

The film was remade into Telugu in 2004 as Lakshmi Narasimha with Balakrishna and Asin in lead roles though the original version was dubbed and released in Telugu as Swamy IPS.[14] It was also remade in Bengali as Barood (2004) with Mithun Chakraborty, in Kannada as Ayya (2005) with Darshan and in Hindi as Policegiri by the notable director K.S.Ravikumar with Sanjay Dutt and Prachi Desai in 2013.[15] Despite the Hindi remake, Saamy was also dubbed into Hindi as Policewala Gunda 3 in 2015.[16]

Sequel

Main article: Saamy Square

In August 2016, during the audio launch of Iru Mugan, director Hari made an official announcement that he will unite with Vikram, also echoed by the latter, for a sequel to Saamy. Later the sequel named Saamy Square.[17]

References

1. Sreedhar, Pillai (29 December 2003). "Reel of fortune". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. Saami netted 30 crore in TN
3. "Sequel to Saamy titled Saamy Square". Deccan Chronicle. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
4. "'Sami is Vikram's film'". Rediff. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
5. "samy". Cinematoday3.itgo.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
6. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 3 February 2003. Archived from the original on 13 December 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
7. "`I am a director's actor'". Frontlineonnet.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
8. "Swamy IPS Songs Download, Swamy IPS Telugu MP3 Songs, Raaga.com Telugu Songs - Raaga.com - A World Of Music". Raaga.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
9. "Movie Review : Saamy". Sify. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
10. "The queen of hearts, ace of tomorrow!". Sify. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
11. HostOnNet.com. "BizHat.com — Saamy Review". Movies.bizhat.com. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
12. "Saami". The Hindu. 9 May 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
13. "Numero Uno". The Hindu. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
14. "'Lakshmi Narasimha' ahead!". Sify. 17 January 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
15. "Sanjay Dutt to play cop in remake of Tamil film 'Saamy'". Mid Day. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j37kPWh_nk
17. "Vikram teams up with director Hari for 'Saamy 2'". The Hindu. Chennai. IANS. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

External links

• Saamy on IMDb

Template:Tamilannai Cine Creations