User reviews

I really hope kovai Sarala wins a national award for this film. The honey scene especially gave me goosebumps. At a point you forget her career as a comedian for decades and think of her and look at her as the character. The little girl was impressive acting. A very much needed social message ..ashwin decent . Logic is konjam missing and a bit cheesy unbelievable at parts. But for the great acting and beautiful scenery I will not elaborate further on it. Prabu Solomon is back. Enjoy the movie and social awareness . Bgm was superb as well all cast and crew did justice to their roles. Highly recommend 8/10.

The movie creates lasting impressions on audience. Sembi is the old lady from the downtrodden society. Her girl grand child is brutally raped by spoiled young adults from political families. The narrative about how bus passengers from different walks of life imbibing the pain the girl child went through is laudable. The transformation of each and every passenger from a spectator to being a part of bringing justice to the girl is classic. The scene shifting passenger between moving buses lack efforts. Kovai sarala and Ashwin did a neat performance. General Awareness of the POCSO act is another good message conveyed!!

Sembi is a movie that strives to give audiences all the feels. It's is a sad reality check, for what happens on-screen is what happens off as well.

Prabu Solomon sir has done a good job in capturing and conveying the essence of the film to the audience. The script is the true hero of the film. The screen play was really good as well especially in the in the 1st half and in the climax.

Nivas K Prasanna has also done amazing work with the songs and BGM in the film which also aid in conveying the essence of the film.

Kovai Sarala ma'am & Nila have given award-winning performances. Ashwinkumar's performance was really good as well and his character is the driving force in the 2nd half. As a fan of his, I couldn't be more proud of the amount of courage, honesty & determination he's shown. I wish & pray for him to do many more such movies in the future. All other actors have performed their role to their best capabilities.

The cinematography/visuals & the bus stunt sequence are really worth mentioning.

Overall this film is a must watch for everyone who want to see quality cinema. If you think that the film will have over the top dialogues, stunt sequences, romance, unnecessary songs or item numbers then you are mistaken and will be disappointed.

The film showcases the reality with some cinematic liberty and indicates the importance of the society coming together to help someone in an detrimental situation and to bring justice to the victim irrespective of age, gender, colour, creed, race, religion or status. At the end of the film you will be left with shed/unshed tears and hope that there will always be someone "unnamed" to help and god to protect and that the truth will always win.

Child abusing is a worst negative topic and it has taken over the tamil films as there are multiple movies about it coming along from the past year, its really annoying to see that the negativity is being spread in all these films, there's a thin line of difference in creating awareness & spreading negativity and film makers should become more responsible in handling such topics carefully as it might have net negative impact on the society as a whole.

It is somewhat satisfactory to see that the positive side of the abused kid being transformed with a male protagonist role and how the kid's life would just move and on & wont get stuck get in there.

On this topic, the only new thing that this film tells is about the POCSO act and nothing else.

The film shows the actual talent of who Kovai Sarala is and what talent she possesses, we've seen her in mockery kinda funny characters for the past several years, and seeing her in a serious role is truly refreshing and unique allowing her to showcase her ability as an actress, she played it nicely all over but the special mention of it was the scene where she's been informed in the hospital about her grand kid's incident and the way she tries to react to it, just shows her talent as an actress.

Other than that, the usual kinda environment & characters in the directors' previous flicks makes this one also almost similar but with a mix of different plot and not-so-boring sequences as the film travels mostly in a bus which demands the screenplay to be a bit racy and engaging makes it watchable to some extent. Yet, it could've been well made by removing some of the unnecessary sequences.

The cinematography was good as it beautifully depicted the misty mountains but the music/BGM didn't add much value at all.

Overall, it deserves a one-time watch.

Sembi is a well-directed, acted, produced, and heart-hitting story. It presents harsh reality of poor people and also motivates humans to be humans and behave as humans. This movie has a simple but strong plot catching your attention from the beginning till the end of the story. The characters are life-like and their acting catches our attention throughout the whole of the story. It makes you cry and breaks your heart immediately and frequently through its actions. It introduces us the great POCSO Act of Indian Constitution weaved and made to protect children from insane rapists and molesters. I request everyone to watch this movie which is available on Hotatar OTT.

A film that shows what is really happening in our society.

Kudos to Director Prabhu Solomon and entire team.for bringing up a sensitive and serious problem of rape in India today.

I won't be saying that it's one of the best movies I happened to watch lately along the lines of Jai Bheem and Ponmagal Vandhal. The screenplay was generally good in the first half with tense and at the same time uneasy repulsive tone.

The second half resembles the Keanu Reeves Hollywood film "Speed" . I am not sure if this is what the makers intended it to be but the quality and cinematography of the action seems to be reminiscent of Hollywood films released in the 1990s. Though the second half is not a direct copy , it seems obvously inspired by that film with a few not so great stunt sequences .scenes that involve stunts could have been improved with a better stunt direction that could have possibly elevated the film to international standards.

However the inclusion of the bus scene and its cheesey characters ruined what could have been a classic thriller if the tone was continued along the lines of the first half of the screenplay. Unnecessary dialogues and comedy dialogues with characters trying to be witty could have been avoided. The inclusion of run of the mill stereotypical supporting characters usually found in masala films just ruined the serious message of the film in the second half. But strangely though a sense of dread and repulsion can be felt throughout the film despite these flaws.

Watchable for the social message inherent in the film but in terms of hybrid action blockbuster, it falls short of standards in the genre.

Very well said the story behind pocso act. Ashwin acting is good in this movie as an advocate.

Kovai Sarla mam as usual done a great job. There is no flaw in this movie. Every one want to see this movie.

Prabu Solomon always gives his best in different journal.

I thought that vilians will win in the climax while watching the movie. But director given justice to the character.

Great work by the sembi team.

Real face of the politicians has been shown in this movie. All are equal, that we should understand.

After seen the movie I hate more the politicians and the police.

As we are in multiculture country, everyone should treat equally.

Superb story(Movie). My sincere thanks to prabhu Solomon sir. Each and everyone's not acting Living in this movie. Especially Kovai Sarala mam, Mullai arasi pappa, Ashwin nanba, Thambi ramayyah sir, Ghana sambantham sir and everyone of this movie Living in our hearts. I love very much. This society needs this types of movie's because of many of culprits corrupting this society like abusing,Bribery(Corruption), misusing the Power in authority, so this type of Act's like pocso, poda. Etc..... Law must activating properly. Once again i Thanks to this movie Team all of them. I love u all and i. I bow by touching all of yours feet. I love u all.

Nice movie wondering why Kovai Sarala was used only as a comedy character. She has excelled in her acting hats off to Kovai Sarala.. semma acting...

Each and every scene of the movie was good. The scenarios of Kodaikanal. Characterisation of Kovai Sarala is too good.

Nice movie wondering why Kovai Sarala was used only as a comedy character. She has excelled in her acting hats off to Kovai Sarala.. semma acting...

A must watch

Nice movie wondering why Kovai Sarala was used only as a comedy character. She has excelled in her acting hats off to Kovai Sarala.. semma acting...

Really good movie more movies like this should come.

Please watch the movie, it may a repeated content but they just took it in a perfect way. The film was revolves around a POCSO case which happened for a tribe child. Kovai Sarala was just stunned everyone with a great performance. Till now we seen her in comedy roles but here for the first time I'm seeing her in a serious cum emotional role. She just nailed it. We can't forget the child's performance, she gave her best. She deserves some awards for her outstanding acting. Nothing to say negative about ashwins performance. This type of judgement only happens in films and not in real life. There are few but which is a least number when compare with the crime rates. They tried to built awareness and courage in people to fight against such crimes and they have shown the reality of Police and politicians, Thank you for a wonderful time.

Sembi is a noteworthy attempt by director Prabhu Solomon to throw light on the POSCO Act.

Brilliant casting, brilliant acting and a very good screenplay and direction by the director.

Prabhu Solomon is different in the way he takes us through his vision and yet again this understated director does a great job. Hoping he scales bigger heights.

Veteran Kovai Sarala and the little girl both were fantastic and Ashwin sparkles in his role as a young advocate.

Ashwin if he chooses scripts like this could stay for a long haul. Has a natural charm that can win him countless fans.

A much needed message!

We're clapping right now with eyes full of tears because 'Sembi' was a spectacular movie. The story carried so many powerful moments and statements that we were left in awe. Bravo!

DELICIOUS

-The film opened up with a bus crashing down a hill which immediately caught our attention and intrigued us. Then, the flashback to some prior days first appeared as a cliché way of telling a story until about 12 minutes when we were slapped with an ugly reality that built the climax.

From there onwards, the narrative was pulling us to navigate harsh life circumstances with Ammachi and Sembi. The twists and turns spiced up the ambiance to the point that even the people around us who were not watching the movie came to join us!

-Ammachi (Kovai Sarala) was a fierce and fearless fighter ready to lay down her life before her granddaughter's. We loved Nila (playing Sembi)! This girl is a masterpiece, she truly incorporated the spirit of a broken person. Hopefully, she can feature in many more movies

-'Sembi' was unique in that it exposed the detrimental effects of hearsay, vigorously encouraged people to unite in order to conquer society's evils, AND included various characters to bring different perspectives on social justice.

You could tell the aim was to awake us to resist and denounce unjust practices no matter the cost

-We greatly appreciated the inclusion of some light comedy from the bus ticket collector (Thambi Ramaiah) to cool us down after some traumatizing, irritating, and anxious moments of the film

-Thank you to Prabhu Solomon for telling this story in an innovative way. The soundtracks contained piercing lyrics about the despicable state of corruption and inequality. The message was well heard! Plus, acting across characters was simply natural.

BLAND

-The visual effects weren't too smooth. A few times we could tell the actors were standing in front of a green screen or that 3D graphic design was used.

A must watch film, I would say Sembi is a very emotional and beautiful film with social awareness . Shooting location is in Kodaikanal so you will also see amazing beautiful places.

Storyline, direction, Acting, Comedy, Emotional drama, fights so everything you will see in this film .

To be honest, before watching this film I never thought it would be a good film. I thought it's just an average film and without any suggestion and opinions from anyone I watched it on OTT but trust me it's came out of my imagination and expectations.

Last scene was goosebumps for me. Movie literally made me cry and I will definitely recommend everyone don't miss it. Please watch this beautiful film.

Thanks.

I am just speechless, these days we get very few movies on such topics, the actors who worked on this film are totally amazing and here I'm specially for Kovai Sarala Ma'am she deserves an award for such mind blowing performance never imagined her in such films apart of commedy movies. Such a legendary actor she is. I am her fan now almost watches every film of her even if I don't understand the language she speaks in I watch it with and without subtitles just for her because she is sweetheart, and being a mother of a girl child now I will definitely suggest people to watch this masterpiece out.

RATED 8/10 Language: Tamil Source: Hotstar RECOMMENDED

I liked this movie very much, even though it has lot of unbelievable turning of events and cinematic climax. The best part is that the situation, location and camera works helped very much for the flow of the movie.

The first kudos to Kovai Sarala and the kid for holding the whole movie on their shoulder. Second one to Director on Believing her. Ashwin character is bit of masala but the climax scene gives compeltely different meaning to his character well done.

This one looks like the mixture of Prabhu Solomon's earlier movie's good scenes. There is no dull moment and highly entertaining one.

This movie attempted to spread awareness about pedophile in society and POCSO act.

This is how a 10 yrs old innocent tribal girl gets gang raped and how her single old grand mother seeks justice. Also how people travelling in bus tries to help both grand mother and the child. The child acted so well and Kovai sarala performance was awesome. Ashwin was charming. Thambi ramaiah managed to crack few laughs. Solomon Prabhu did justice in narrating the story. Background score and visual of western ghats were good. Social awareness movie and packed with emotions. Worth watching and recommended for common people.