Samy (director)
Samy is a Tamil film director and a script writer. Several of his films have been criticised for depicting controversial content on screen.
Career
Samy started his career assisting directors such as Balu Mahendra and S. A. Chandrasekaran, and worked as a dialogue writer for Sarathkumar starrer Dosth (2001).[1] He made his directorial debut with Uyir (2006), which revolved around a woman who falls in love with her brother-in-law after the demise of her husband. The film became controversial upon release due to its bold content but did well at box office.[2][3] His second film Mirugam (2007) which dealt with a cruel villager who is suffering from HIV was met with a controversy after Samy assaulted the actress Padmapriya by slapping her in front of the crew and the village people. The South Indian Film Industry imposed a one-year ban on him for his behaviour on set, but later the ban was reduced to six months due to constant lobbying by the producers' associations.[4][5]
In 2008, Samy began working on a project titled Sarithram starring Rajkiran and Aadhi which was said to be dealing with the subject of Silambam; however despite launch the project was shelved. He then made his comeback with Sindhu Samaveli (2010) with entirely new cast. Like his previous ventures this film too attracted controversy because of its content. Upon release, the film met with contrasting reviews, whilst some critics refused to give the film a rating, declaring their disgust at the film's plot.[6][7] The film released on 3 September 2010 and did poorly at the box office.[8] His next film Kangaroo (2015) would be dedicated to caring mothers and stated that it was a family friendly film, marking a change from the controversial themes of his previous three projects.[9][10] The film had a low key release and went unnoticed. In 2019, it was announced that Samy would direct Akka Kuruvi, an official remake of the 1997 Iranian film Children of Heaven.[11]
CONTROVERSY
Padmapriya shared that when women speak up about problems, they often become the problem themselves. In 2007, during the filming of the Tamil movie Mirugam, the director, Samy, slapped her on the last day of shooting, accusing her of not acting well. When she reported the incident to industry bodies, she lost several film offers that had been promised to her.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Uyir | |
| 2007 | Mirugam | |
| 2010 | Sindhu Samaveli | |
| 2015 | Kangaroo | |
| 2022 | Akka Kuruvi |
References
- ^ "Controversial director Samy slams actor Vijay, calls him 'real life actor'". Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Sangeetha on her controversial film Uyir: Watched it only once, as it was disturbing". Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ "Uyir review – Uyir: A difference hard to digest!!". Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ Pillai, Akshaya (9 February 2018). "Make a scene, women". Business Line. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ "Chennai director slaps actor on sets, banned for one year". The Times of India. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (6 September 2010). "Sindhu Samaveli goes for the jugular". Rediff. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Sindhu Samaveli Review". Behindwoods. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Sindhu Samaveli Movie Review". Cinefundas. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Director Samy is back with `Kangaroo`
- ^ Samy back with his next – The Times of India
- ^ "Children of Heaven gets a Tamil remake". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.