Set in a rustic milieu, the film centres on Pandi, a youth with political aspirations. It’s about how he goes about achieving his goal. With a debutant director at the helm and a fresh team of cast and crew, Sandiyar is fairly, neatly scripted and narrated, delivering much more than what is expected.
Pandi Durai (Jagan) runs a mini-bus service in a village and is a do gooder and social activist. With the panchayat election round the corner, Pandi aims to defeat incumbent chairman Nayakam (Nayakam). To emerge successful, Pandi even plays up to Kayal (Kayal), the niece of Nayakam. The relationship between them would soon take the inevitable path. The running feud between Pandi and Nayakam creates various problems for Pandi. He does win the election, but his problems have only just begun.
The debutant director touches on various relevant issues like illegal sand quarrying, selling of adulterated liquor, farmers’ rights and the 100- day rural employment scheme.
The scenes of Pandi and his friends being hunted and chased by Nayakam and the cops are realistic in portrayal and the fights are well-choreographed.
However, Pandi’s sudden revelation of certain unsavoury activities he was involved in, lacks conviction. Debutant Jagan has the tall rugged looks and demeanour to carry off the role and performs like a seasoned veteran. Kayal, with her girl-next-door looks and emotive acting, fits in suitably.
The supporting cast like T Ravi and Venkatesan as Nayakam’s and Pandi’s fathers respectively, pitch in their bit. Singampuli’s antics at times provide the comic relief. The crisp editing by Saravanan ensures a steady pace without many lagging points.
Made on a modest budget and with a fresh team, Sandiyar is one of the better rural -based political action flicks to come out in recent times.