Sandakari Movie Review: Vimal-Shriya Saran Film Arrives 7 Years Late, Delivers a Decent Watch

Some films take years to find their audience. Sandakari took even longer to find a release date.

Shot in 2019, the Vimal and Shriya Saran-starrer sat on the shelf for more than six years before finally reaching audiences — a gap long enough that the “new release” tag feels almost ironic. The bigger question, now that it’s actually out, is whether the wait changes how the film plays. Mostly, it doesn’t. Sandakari is exactly the kind of breezy, familiar entertainer it would have been in 2019 — no better, no worse for the delay.

The Backstory

Directed by Madhesh, Sandakari is the Tamil remake of the 2012 Malayalam hit My Boss. The original had a strong following in Kerala for its office-romance premise, and the Tamil version keeps that skeleton largely intact while relocating chunks of the story between London and Tamil Nadu.

Vimal plays a gold-medalist engineering graduate who has even built his own app — qualifications that, in classic rom-com logic, he sets aside to work as an assistant to Shreya, a senior executive at a London company played by Shriya Saran. She’s ambitious, short-fused, and clearly not an easy boss. Their equation is professional in name only; it’s tense from the start.

What’s New in the Plot

The film’s central complication arrives when Shreya’s UK visa expires, forcing her back to India to sort out an extension that could derail her career plans. Her solution: pretend to be married to Vimal, banking on the arrangement to help her secure permanent residency in London.

Vimal agrees — but with a catch of his own. Shreya has to accompany him to Tamil Nadu to meet his parents. Unknown to her, he’s already teamed up with her professional rival, setting up a quieter agenda beneath the fake-marriage plan. What follows is a string of misunderstandings and one-upmanship as both leads try to outmanoeuvre each other while pretending to be a couple.

Why It Doesn’t Quite Land

On paper, the setup has plenty to work with — corporate rivalry, a fake marriage, culture clash between London corporate life and small-town Tamil Nadu family dynamics. In practice, the film doesn’t fully cash in on that potential. The switch between the two settings feels more like a plot requirement than something the story earns, and the comic beats are inconsistent — some sequences land, others feel dated in their timing.

The bigger gap is in the central relationship. Vimal brings his usual easy, comfortable screen presence and handles the lighter portions well, though the role doesn’t push him into new territory. Shriya Saran is convincing as the no-nonsense, career-focused boss, particularly in her confrontational scenes. What’s missing is chemistry between the two — their romantic arc never quite convinces, which weakens the emotional payoff the story is clearly aiming for.

The Supporting Cast Carries Weight

Where the film scores more consistently is in its ensemble. Prabhu and Uma Padmanabhan, as Vimal’s parents, anchor the Tamil Nadu portions with warmth, while a roster of familiar character actors — Punnagai Poo Geetha, Sathyan, KR Vijaya, Rekha, Dev Gill, Crane Manohar and Mahanadi Shankar — fill out the film’s family comedy with reliable, if expected, humour.

On the technical side, Gurudev’s cinematography does a solid job of visually distinguishing London’s corporate sheen from Tamil Nadu’s warmer, homelier tone, and Amrish’s music and background score stay in step with the film’s commercial, crowd-pleasing intent.

Should You Watch It?

Sandakari isn’t trying to reinvent the romantic comedy — it’s a straightforward, family-friendly entertainer built on a formula audiences already know from My Boss and countless films like it. The Tamil version adds enough local flavour, family humour and emotional beats to stay accessible, even if the screenplay asks viewers to look past a few logical stretches along the way.

A tighter script, and stronger chemistry between its leads, could have made this a more memorable watch. As it stands, Sandakari settles for being a passable, one-time watch — pleasant enough, but unlikely to leave much of a mark after the credits roll.

Sandakari Movie Rating: 2.5/5

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sandakari was filmed in 2019 and released more than six years later
• It remakes the 2012 Malayalam film My Boss
• Vimal and Shriya Saran play an assistant and boss who fake a marriage
• Supporting cast, including Prabhu and Uma Padmanabhan, boosts the family comedy
• Final verdict: 2.5/5, a decent but unremarkable commercial entertainer

PULL QUOTE:
“Sandakari took more than six years to arrive — the film itself feels like it hasn’t moved an inch since.”

FAQ:

What is Sandakari about?

Sandakari follows an engineering graduate (Vimal) who works as an assistant to a demanding London-based executive (Shriya Saran). When her visa troubles force a solution, she proposes a fake marriage, setting off a chain of workplace rivalry and family comedy.

Is Sandakari a remake?

Yes. Sandakari is the Tamil remake of the 2012 Malayalam film My Boss, adapted and directed by Madhesh for Tamil audiences.

Why was Sandakari delayed for so long?

The film was shot in 2019 but remained unreleased for more than six years before finally reaching audiences. The source material reviewed here does not specify the reason for the delay.

What is the Sandakari movie rating?

Sandakari has been rated 2.5/5, reflecting a watchable but familiar entertainer with uneven chemistry between the lead pair.

Who are the lead actors in Sandakari?

The film stars Vimal and Shriya Saran in the lead roles, supported by Prabhu, Uma Padmanabhan, Punnagai Poo Geetha, Sathyan, KR Vijaya, Rekha, Dev Gill, Crane Manohar and Mahanadi Shankar.