Samurai (2002 film)

Samurai
DVD Cover
Directed by	Balaji Sakthivel
Produced by	S. Sriram
Written by	Balaji Sakthivel
Starring	Vikram Anita Hassanandani Jaya Seal
Music by	Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography	Sethu Sriram S. D. Vijay Milton A. Venkatesh
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Aalayam
Release date	12 July 2002 (2002-07-12)
Running time	180 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Samurai is a 2002 Tamil language film directed by Balaji Sakthivel and produced by S. Sriram. The film featured Vikram in the title role, while Anita Hassanandani, Jaya Seal and Nassar played supporting roles. Harris Jayaraj scored the film's music, while Sethu Sriram handled cinematography. Originally launched in 2000, the film went through production delays and was only released in July 2002, when it opened to mixed reviews and an average response at the box office.

Thiyagu (Vikram), a Medical College Student, leads a gang of four to abduct corrupt politicians and bureaucrats who use the loophole in law to enjoy their prison term in hospitals or guest houses. Deiva (Anitha), a school girl and daughter of Sandana pandian (Nassar), a police officer on the trail of the mysterious gang, has a crush on Thiyagu. She is not aware of his real identity. The reason for Thiyagu to take up illegal activities is out of frustration. His collegemate Kavitha (Jayaseal) commits suicide when she doesn't get any support from him in her effort to expose a drug sale racket in the medical college. This shocked him and spurred him into taking law into his own hands. Nabbed by Sandana pandian and hauled before the special court, Thiyagu reveals the crimes committed by those he had kidnapped. He offers to free them if they are sentenced to life imprisonment. When the judges refuses, the public storm the court. In the melee, Sandana pandian lets the gang members go scot free along with his daughter.

Vikram signed the film in May 2000 and it became the first venture he committed to after the blockbuster success of Bala's Sethu. North Indian model Anita Hassanandani was selected to make her debut through the film, though another film, Varushamellam Vasantham, ended up releasing before Samurai. Simran first approached to play a pivotal role in the movie, but Jaya Seel, who appeared alongside Prabhu Deva in Pennin Manathai Thottu, was roped in to play a medical student. Malayalam actor Kollam Thulasi was signed up to play a negative role in the film and thus made his debut in Tamil films.