Siruvan Samuel Movie Review: An ambitious tale made vague by an esoteric dialect

In a scene in Siruvan Samuel, the young Ajidhan who plays Samuel stands in front of a wall that reads Aasai as he sees a dream moment slip away from his hands. Director Sadhu Burlington gives us many such metaphorical visuals in his directorial debut. Yet, the Kanyakumari dialect of Tamil spoken by the characters is not always comprehensible, and the writing is all over the place making Siruvan Samuel an impatient watch.

Director: Sadhu Burlington

Cast: Ajidhan Thavasimuthu, KG Vishnu, Chellappan

Set in the rural landscapes of Kanyakumari, Siruvan Samuel is about 10-year-old Samuel who loves cricket. His only ambition is to buy a cricket bat after watching his idol Sachin Tendulkar. A meek-looking kid, Samuel explores ways and means to buy the bat along with his friend Rajesh. Whether or not Samuel manages to fulfill his ambition, forms the rest of the story. 

In the opening scenes of Siruvan Samuel, we are shown the conservative nature of the villagers, and the teachers at school who discourage young Samuel from cricket and tell him to focus on academics. But his heart continues to beat for cricket. When he learns that cricket trading cards could get him a bat signed by Sachin himself, he tries all kinds of ways to collect those cards. This soon turns into an obsession and Samuel's unconventional and innovative ways gradually lead him into a path of delinquency.

Various elements from the 90s keep making appearances in the film. If the trading cards are a definite throwback to that era, we are also shown how these kids play their hearts out without the disturbance of any technological devices. Be it coming together to play a game of cricket or a hand-held video game, or even traditional games like a 'soodukottai' these scenes make us feel to go back to a much more innocent time with our friends.

While Siruvan Samuel does have a lot of positives, the Kanyakumari dialect prevalent throughout the film comes across as a dampener. Language is an extremely essential part of a film. It is understandable that the director, who hails from Kanyakumari, wanted to represent his native in an authentic manner. However, they could have either simplified it just like the makers of Vadhandhi or chosen coded subtitles like what we saw in the recently released Yaathisai. With these crutches absent, the dialogues become unfathomable and act as a major disconnect from the film. This ends up becoming one of the biggest disadvantages of Siruvan Samuel. 

Secondly, the film, which starts strong with Samuel’s interest in cricket, becomes confusing post the interval. In an attempt to showcase the indigenous culture of the Kumari district, the film loses itself to wedding ceremonies and religious processions that play no part in the story. Although the film is only 95 minutes long, these out-of-context scenes make us all the more restless.

Siruvan Samuel ends with Ajidhan (who has won our hearts with his performance by now), drenching in the rain, as he repents for a small yet significant mistake he makes in the course of fulfilling his dream. Through the eyes of these young children, the film manages to give us an insightful outlook on life and society. With picturesque locations, a promising premise, and beautifully framed shots, Siruvan Samuel should have been a century on debut for Sadhu, but with the dialect being a dealbreaker, the film ends up as a functional 40 that just about manages to stay in the game.