# Samay: When Time Strikes (समय)
**Samay: When Time Strikes** (समय) is a 2003 Hindi-language crime thriller directed by Robby Grewal, in which Assistant Commissioner of Police Malvika Chauhan, played by [Sushmita Sen](https://www.edgepedia.org/sushmita-sen), hunts a serial killer who murders his victims at precise times and leaves a deliberate pattern behind.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) • [2](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html) It was released in India on 10 October 2003, runs 131 minutes, and was a box-office failure, though it later drew a warmer audience response and won a National Film Award for editing.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) • [3](https://elcinema.com/work/2036442/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 10 October 2003 (India), Hindi, 131 minutes, certificate A[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) • [4](https://www.komparify.com/entertainment/movie/samay-when-time-strikes) |
| Director and writers | Robby Grewal (director, story, screenplay) with Sameer Kohli (story and screenplay)[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes) |
| Lead cast | Sushmita Sen as ACP Malvika Chauhan, Sushant Singh as Satya, Jackie Shroff as Amod Parekh[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) |
| Premise | A serial killer murders victims at a certain time and arranges the bodies in a pattern; all victims share eyesight of power -2[2](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) |
| Box office | Budget 35,000,000 rupees against a total nett gross of 18,450,000 rupees on 100 screens; classified a Disaster[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) |
| Recognition | National Film Award for best editing; Screen Weekly Awards nomination for best actress[3](https://elcinema.com/work/2036442/) |
| Audience rating | 7.0/10 on IMDb from about 2,200 votes[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film opens with the murder of a successful industrialist, [Kapil Sharma](https://www.edgepedia.org/kapil-sharma), a case assigned to ACP Malvika Chauhan, a widowed officer living with her daughter Anjali and honored by the [Government of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/government-of-india) as one of the country's best police officers.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/plotsummary/) The crime scene offers no fingerprints, no signs of struggle, and no apparent motive, and the post-mortem rules out any foreign particles in the blood.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) • [9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm)
Further killings follow: the actress Ritika Sabharwal is murdered in the makeup room of her film set, and a contract killer is then found dead at his hideout.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/plotsummary/) • [9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm) Malvika becomes convinced one person committed all the crimes, though her superiors are skeptical and want the files closed.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/plotsummary/) The killer's signature is a pattern left in the shape of the dead bodies, and, as a psychological thriller, the film establishes that he murders his victims at a certain time and makes sure the hands of their watches show the time of murder.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) • [2](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html)
The one similarity among the victims is their eyesight: all of them have defective vision with the same power of -2.[2](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html) Working from this clue, Malvika interprets the killer's intentions and sets a trap for his next strike, unaware that the killer is actually targeting her.[2](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html) In the climax, a man named Amod Parekh explains that he was rejected from the police force because of his own -2 eyesight despite better credentials than Malvika's, and that he kills people with poor eyesight who nonetheless excel in their fields; he then tells Malvika that her daughter, who also had -2 eyesight, is dead, and she shoots him.[10](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/samay-when-time-strikes)
## Production and cast
Robby Grewal made his directorial debut with the film, working from a story and screenplay written with Sameer Kohli.[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes) It was produced by iDream Productions with Red Ice Films as executive producer, with music by Sandeep Chowta, lyrics by [Abbas Tyrewala](https://www.edgepedia.org/abbas-tyrewala), and cinematography by K. U. Mohanan.[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm) • [5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes) The film was shot in Mumbai and presented in color with a 2.39:1 scope aspect ratio.[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes)
Sushmita Sen played the solo lead as ACP Malvika Chauhan, the first time she carried a film as its sole "hero".[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm) Sushant Singh played her assistant Satya, and [Jackie Shroff](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-shroff) appeared as Amod Parekh in a guest appearance; the supporting cast included Rajesh Khera as the post-mortem doctor, Dinesh Lamba as Sub-Inspector Rafique, Tushar Dalvi as Dr. Ravi Ghatge, and Barkha Madan and [Sana Saeed](https://www.edgepedia.org/sana-saeed) as Anjali.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) • [11](https://b4uentertainment.com/b4u-plus-uae/samay-when-the-time-strikes-0) • [5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes)
The film carries two songs, of which "Laaila" was described as hummable in contemporaneous coverage.[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm)
## Censorship and inspiration
According to the Moviebuff trivia listing, the film is inspired by the American movie *Se7en* (1995), and it was delayed for three months after the censor board found its ending too disturbing for Indian audiences; the director took the matter to court and the film was passed.[5](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes) Audience reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes have likewise described it as a rare, well-made adaptation of a Hollywood film without naming the source.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes)
## Reception
**Contemporary critics** were divided on execution but consistent on the film's central weakness. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated it 1.5 out of 5, crediting its single-track screenplay and realistic investigative detail while calling the climax, in which the killer's identity and motive are revealed, the film's biggest flaw, one that leaves a major section of the audience bewildered.[12](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/samay-when-time-strikes/critic-review/samay-when-time-strikes-movie-review/) A Rediff review praised the focused screenplay, the absence of unwanted romantic or comic tracks, and the good cinematography, especially the raid on the contract killer's slum hideout, but found the slow pace kept it from becoming an edge-of-the-seat thriller and noted that the ending lacked the why-did-I-not-think-of-this-before quality of a good murder mystery.[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm) The Times of India highlighted the taut storyline and Sen's portrayal of a lip-colored, PacMan-playing, impeccably tailored police officer.[13](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/samay-hang-on-till-the-last-minute/articleshow/226975.cms)
**Later audience response** has been more favorable. The film holds an 81% Popcornmeter score from more than 250 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, with no professional critic reviews counted on the Tomatometer, and one reviewer called it an underrated, impressively well-made murder mystery.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) Its IMDb rating stands at 7.0 from about 2,200 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/)
## Box office
The film opened on 100 screens and earned 2,100,000 rupees on its first day and 6,800,000 rupees over its first weekend, reaching 11,200,000 rupees in the first week.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) Against a budget of 35,000,000 rupees, it recorded a total nett gross of 18,450,000 rupees and an India gross of 28,000,000 rupees, with no recorded overseas gross, drawing about 627,000 footfalls; Box Office India classifies the result as a Disaster.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549) The film was released the same day as another heroine-led film, *Main Madhuri Dixit Banana Chahti Hoon*, and a Rediff reviewer watching both on opening day judged the competing film likelier to succeed, having seen *Samay* at a near-empty theater.[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm)
## Awards and legacy
The film won the National Film Award for best editing and received a Screen Weekly Awards nomination for best actress.[3](https://elcinema.com/work/2036442/) It has since been listed in the National Film Archive of India's feature-film database as a 2003 Hindi film directed by Robby Grewal.[14](https://nfai.nfdcindia.com/pdf/Beyond_NFHM_Features_2023.pdf) A streaming release followed on 4 January 2019.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes) Retrospective commentary treats it as an early, atypical Bollywood serial-killer thriller that broke from the song-and-dance formula of its era, with one 2020 review noting it was the first film the reviewer had seen that dispensed with the usual stereotypical songs and dance numbers.[15](https://theuncoveredthoughts.blogspot.com/2020/10/review-9-samay-when-time-strikes-2003.html)
## References
1. [Samay - When Time Strikes, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=549)
2. [Samay - When Time Strikes Story, FilmiBeat](https://filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/samay-when-time-strikes/story.html)
3. [Samay: When Time Strikes (2003), elCinema](https://elcinema.com/work/2036442/)
4. [Samay: When Time Strikes, Komparify](https://www.komparify.com/entertainment/movie/samay-when-time-strikes)
5. [Samay: When Time Strikes on Moviebuff.com](https://www.moviebuff.com/samay-when-time-strikes)
6. [Samay: When Time Strikes, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samay-when-time-strikes)
7. [Samay: When Time Strikes (2003), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/)
8. [Samay: When Time Strikes (2003) - Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384491/plotsummary/)
9. [Sushmita's time out!, Rediff.com (10 October 2003)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/samay/20031010.htm)
10. [Samay: When Time Strikes (2003), Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/samay-when-time-strikes)
11. [SAMAY-WHEN THE TIME STRIKES, B4U Entertainment](https://b4uentertainment.com/b4u-plus-uae/samay-when-the-time-strikes-0)
12. [Samay - When Time Strikes Movie Review by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/samay-when-time-strikes/critic-review/samay-when-time-strikes-movie-review/)
13. [Samay: Hang on till the last minute, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/samay-hang-on-till-the-last-minute/articleshow/226975.cms)
14. [Beyond NFHM Features 2023, National Film Archive of India](https://nfai.nfdcindia.com/pdf/Beyond_NFHM_Features_2023.pdf)
15. [REVIEW 9 SAMAY: When Time Strikes (2003), The Uncovered Thoughts](https://theuncoveredthoughts.blogspot.com/2020/10/review-9-samay-when-time-strikes-2003.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Action and thriller films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license