Samay: When Time Strikes

What worked: It's a fine thriller, with a good screenplay and direction. Sushmita Sen performed very well in the movie, and so did the supporting actors Jackie and Sushant. Unlike many female lead movies, Sushmita was well balanced in her character; no unnecessary ruthlessness or mean behaviors. What did not work: I think the movie could have been better if it was produced today. The technical aspect of the movie is weak; it has weak camera work and sound mixing. Final verdict: recommended

This film is a rip off of Seven, right down to the surprise intro of the villain.

However, that doesn't make it a bad movie. In fact, amid all the trash that Bollywood just unleashed, this is a pretty interesting Indianized version of Seven. Instead of the sins, they have put in a different sort of a motive, which is actually well thought out and laid out.

Acting is pretty good, especially of Sushmita Sen. So is the direction and editing.

On the whole, I would recommend it, as it is a good thriller and it does not lose its thread and sink into melodrama, as how Hindi thriller movies usually do.

This is one of the best crime thrillers I have ever seen. It definitely has to be Sushmita Sen's best film her acting was also good usually she cannot act. Her role as a police officer really did suit her. She is better off like that because she is not very glamorous and she can't act in romantic roles. There is only one song in the film called Laila Laila... which was put in a very sensible way, it doe's not have any couples dancing around trees in Switzerland. It was about an actress who was shooting her music video; the song & cinematography were both terrific. Ending was quite sad but it was very clever and unexpected. A lot of people said that it is inspired from Seven, I've not seen it but I am 200% sure that Samay will turn out to better than Seven although it is one of the top 250 IMDb movies. The film is very similar to the CID programme on Sony Entertainment Television Asia. Overall Samay: When Time Strikes is one of my most favourite movies!

'Samay' is one of the best movies of 2003. It stars the beauty queen Sushmita Sen in one of the most meaningful roles of her career. She plays the role of an intelligent cop who is assigned the task of solving the murder of a wealthy businessman. She begins to unearth every clues linking her to the killer.

But before she could solve the mystery of the businessman's homicide, another murder takes place. This time a leading actress of the film industry has been murdered. To make matters worse, a famous contact-killer of the city has also been killed.

Each murder follows an interesting pattern-the first victim was killed at 12, the second at 3 and the third at 6. And each victim had a defective eyesight with a power of -2. Will Sush be able to stop the killer from carrying out one more crime with impunity or will she fail? The movie is extremely interesting right from the beginning. This is the first movie I have seen that doesn't follow the usual routine of useless songs and dance numbers. There is only one song in the movie, 'Laila Laila' but it was necessary to establish the moves of the second victim before she was murdered.

'Samay' scores in almost every department. Cinematography was good and the editing was well-paced. The supporting casts were equally good as the lead cast. Sushant Singh was competitive and so were Dinesh Lamba and Rajesh Khera.

As mentioned above, with 'Samay' Sushmita should easily win the critical acclaim that she has longed for from the beginning of her career. She was competitive throughout the movie. No actress can match her given the role of a smart and diligent cop in the movie.

The only thing that I don't like in the movie is the climax which was heavy and unsatisfactory.

Despite an unsatisfactory ending, watch 'Samay' for pure entertainment.

I rate it 8/10.

Though this movie is a lot like another English (Hollywood) movie, for Bollywood cinemas, it's an excellent improvement on their usual stock. Excellent direction & use of lighting.

No love-interest & not much deviation from the plot keeps the viewer at the edge of the seat, right till the end of the movie.

All in all, an excellent movie I recommend to everyone.