Sameer movie review: This Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub film is predictable

The first feature of documentary filmmaker Dakxin Bajrange is an idea that has been explored before. We are given, in addition to Sameer, who is presumed guilty unless proven otherwise, a tough ATS cop (Datta), a feisty reporter (Patil), and a town under attack.

There is something in this film. A certain knowledge of the area: most of the film is set in Ahmedabad. The idea that, sometimes, terrorists do not spring from the ether; they are born out of circumstances. And a couple of well fleshed out characters, especially that of Sameer. The talented Ayyub, whom we’ve seen earlier this year in Tubelight, makes a meal of his young college student forced into a difficult situation not of his making. And there’s a young character who is oddly affecting, even when you can see where his arc is headed.

But the rest of it is thin and predictable, barring a thread. Even this, the alert viewer can twig on to well in time. Patil’s reporter is exaggerated; so is the cop, though Datta’s innate abilities are never in question.

Worthy attempt, but the raw edges show.