Rahul Rawail's Samundar is overall a watchable and enjoyable mainstream movie. This is a nice if typical revenge tale only that the person who the hero wants to take revenge on is actually innocent, and he mistakes the real villain who murdered his father for his friend, thinking he wants to help him. There is obviously an inevitable but charming love story in all this involving the hero and the innocent man's lovely sister in-law. The romantic sequences are actually the film's best executed and they overtake everything else in it, even though it is a mixed genre film which could be also called an action flick or a thriller.
The movie is set in modern-day India and takes place around the Maldives on the coastline of the Indian ocean where the main characters reside. Although the story itself is not particularly impressive, the film is beautifully shot and the locations, particularly the many exotic views of the ocean, are simply breathtaking. The film is also quite modern in its presentation of the characters and their lifestyle, which is more urban and affluent. Everything, from the costumes to the sets, contributes to this depiction. Samundar without a doubt has its entertaining and exciting moments of comedy, romance and suspense.
Sunny Deol stars as the leading man and he does very well. Something in his persona in this movie reminds me of his debut role in Betaab, which was actually directed by Rahul Rawail himself. Poonam Dhillon looked a million bucks here and her acting was quite natural. Sunny and Poonam have a wonderful chemistry, which is in my view even better than in Sohni Mahiwal. Anupam Kher and Amrish Puri do their contradicting roles well, and the little girl playing Kher's little daughter is also okay for a child actor and she is very cute and likable. A young actress named Roshni also appears in the film as Nisha, and she's smashing hot!
Rahul Rawail made some very good films in the 1980s, and his direction here is very good. It is of course aided by Baba Azmi's effective cinematography that makes it so visually stunning, but one of the movie's biggest pluses is of course R.D. Burman's exceptional music, which gives the film an enchanting feel and puts this picture in a class of its own. One song that is easily one of my favourite of those times is of course the marvelous "Aye Sagar Ki Lehron", which is also perfectly pictured on-screen, bringing out some of the film's most magic romantic moments.
Samundar is generally fun to watch, and I've actually watched it several times and enjoyed it each time. Superbly shot, well cast, and with great music, the movie would definitely entertain lovers of Hindi film of that period and of this sort. Not at all without its flaws and overall it's nothing particularly special but as said it has its pluses, it flows well, and is an alright thriller cum romance after all.
