On the coast at Porbandar, childhood friends Uday and Salman rise together through the ruthless fisheries mafia. As they climb the criminal ladder, power struggles, politics and old vendettas begin to test their bond. What started as shared ambition fractures into betrayal and revenge with irreversible consequences.
Samandar is Gujarati cinema reaching for the gangster epic, and for the most part it gets there. Director Vishal Vada Vala sets his story on the coast at Porbandar, inside the brutal world of the fisheries mafia, and follows two childhood friends, Uday and Salman, whose bond is forged and then slowly broken as they climb the criminal ladder. What starts as shared ambition curdles into betrayal once power, politics and old vendettas pull them in opposite directions.
The film leans hard on atmosphere. The Porbandar locations give it a salt-and-diesel authenticity most Gujarati films never attempt, and the Kedar and Bhargav soundtrack, with voices like Aditya Gadhvi, Nakash Aziz and Osman Mir, threads folk textures through the violence. Mayur Chauhan and Jagjeetsinh Vadher carry the central friendship with enough weight that the eventual fracture lands, supported by Dharmendra Gohil, Deeksha Joshi and Chetan Dhanani.
Reviewers responded well. Rachana Joshi of Mid-day gave it three and a half out of five, praising the story, direction, performances and music while singling out the run time as a genuine problem. Harsh Bhatt of Gujarat First went further with four out of five, calling the narrative gripping and the cinematography striking, and framing the film as something that shifts the current of Gujarati cinema. Both were right on both counts. The scale and craft are real, but so is the bloat, and a tighter edit would have sharpened the revenge arc rather than letting it sprawl. Taken as a whole, Samandar is an ambitious, well-mounted crime drama that proves the industry can hold its own in a genre usually ceded to bigger film industries. Go in for the world-building and the friendship at its core.
Verdict
An ambitious coastal gangster drama that proves Gujarati cinema can hold the genre. Trim the runtime and it would be even sharper.
What works
- Rare, convincing Gujarati gangster world
- Authentic Porbandar coastal setting
- Strong lead pairing and central friendship
- Textured Kedar and Bhargav soundtrack
What holds it back
- Excessive run time
- Narrative sprawls in the second half
- Familiar rise-and-betrayal beats
- Some supporting roles underwritten
Cast & crew
Writers: Vishal Vada Vala, Swapnil Mehta
Music: Kedar & Bhargav
Cast: Mayur Chauhan (Uday), Jagjeetsinh Vadher (Salman), Dharmendra Gohil (Imtiaz Memon), Deeksha Joshi, Chetan Dhanani
Producers: Kalpesh Palan, Udayraj Shekhwa
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore from Vishal Vada Vala
More Crime Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Samandar worth watching?
An ambitious coastal gangster drama that proves Gujarati cinema can hold the genre. Trim the runtime and it would be even sharper. Kevu Che rates it 3.5 out of 5.
What is Samandar about?
On the coast at Porbandar, childhood friends Uday and Salman rise together through the ruthless fisheries mafia. As they climb the criminal ladder, power struggles, politics and old vendettas begin to test their bond. What started as shared ambition fractures into betrayal and revenge with irreversible consequences.
What is the IMDb rating of Samandar?
Samandar (2024) holds an IMDb rating of 7.7 out of 10.