7th Day

2014 has been a disaster for Malayalam films with every single film bombing at the box office, except maybe 3 or 4. Mammootty's Gangster is an example of downright flop.

We have been seeing lots of débutante directors coming up lately and 7th Day is no different. But Shyamdhar shines with his work. His direction is appreciative. The cinematography & editing is below average as many scene are repeated to feed the non-linear screenplay. But I liked the screenplay, to be honest and for a mystery thriller like this, it is an apt choice.

Starting off with an unnecessary disco song (with some good rap, I should mention), the film talks about a group of friends who get entangled in an underworld racket involving big money. Later, we are to know that things are not at all what they seem to be. Prithviraj pops out with brilliant performance as an ex-cop. As the story moves forward with credible suspense, skeletons start falling out & we are fed with more information as to what, why & how. Certain twists in the plot grow and make the story understandable. Vinay Fortt should be lauded for his style.

The story as a whole reminds of Hollywood thriller classics but I am not complaining because although the makers borrow ideas, they don't altogether copy it like the fashion currently is. There are many flaws but for the entertainment it provides, they all nullify. There are many elements which are shown but the underlying point is slightly clichéd. The climax is very fine. At least, the pace will keep you from boredom.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended, for it is really good. I am gonna expect more from Shyamdhar.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

This is overrated suspense thriller. Could have been a better movie but there are so many flaws and coincidence in Story. A suspense movie can not have coincidence . Why I am talking about coincidence you will know at the end of the movie. I think you should skip this movie.

Acting and direction of the movie is below par.

Good Movie. Everybody acted well in the movie. The movie was interesting and thrilling at 1st half. The movie bored and lagged a lot at 2nd half. Good Movie.

I had high hopes for the film, considering all the hype the first trailer created and the fact that it was a Prithviraj film. I was utterly disappointed.

I simply had to write this review to let everyone know how highly overrated 7th Day is. A story that could've made a blockbuster was destroyed by terrible writing and poor execution. And to top all that, naming the antagonist Moriarty. Why would they drag an iconic character's name into what could be one of the most boring thrillers in Malayalam Cinema? I mean, what was the writer trying to accomplish by using the name 'Moriarty'?

The supporting cast including Vinay Forrt, Anu Mohan and Tovino Thomas gave their career worst performances. Their bad acting only made the already under-written characters even more unwatchable. It was sad to see such good talents put to waste. Janani Iyer could very well be the Kirsten Stewart of Malayalam Cinema. No expression on that face, whatsoever!

The screenplay was pathetic and dragged on for more than two hours. Scenes that could've been compelling were blown to bits by over the top style and clichéd dialogues. Take for example an important scene where four characters are in the middle of a conversation on top of a cliff. After each dialogue, the camera has to zoom in on each characters face, followed by panoramic shots from various angles. A conversation that could've taken about three minutes was stretched to a whopping fifteen minutes!

The plot was plain stupid and the non-linear narrative was so bad that it lost it's way in the first half itself. The twists were clichéd and the climax was obvious.

It still makes one wonder why Prithviraj, an incredible actor who gave us brilliant performances in yesteryear's 'Mumbai Police', 'Celluloid' and 'Memories', would even consider a part in what could be one of the worst thrillers of the year. Nonetheless, Prithivraj gave a convincing performance and remains the only saving grace of the film.

Final Verdict: 7th Day is a fine example of how flawed writing and terrible acting can put an entire genre to shame. Watch it if you're a huge fan of Prithviraj, but don't expect to be overwhelmed.

Movie Name: 7th Day Language : Malayalam Rating : 4/5

The movie begins with the introduction of David Ibrahim (Prithviraj) who is from the Crime Branch SID currently under suspension. Prithvi stumbles across two strangers Vinu and Shan on the night of Christmas Eve in a freak accident and offers to admit them to hospital. One of them, Vinu goes missing from the hospital and is later found dead in what is claimed to be a suicide. Offering to help the other distressed friend Shan, David traces the life of Vinu backwards and finds several interesting revelations in the last 7 days of Vinu's life. As he digs deeper he finds out that Vinu and his group of 4 friends including Shan accidentally crossed paths with a mafia gang operating a fake currency note network causing all the issues. As the film proceeds to the climax to find out who the real killer of Vinu is and to find a solution to the Mafia which continues to pursue Shan, one is in for a real surprise for the way things turn out. David uses his police identity sparingly to extract information from others and puts the pieces together in the puzzle to find out why Vinu committed suicide and why he was involved in the mysterious activities in the past 7 days leading upto his death.

The first half of the movie is slow while the second half compensates for it. Prithviraj comes up with a superb performance yet again. He is aided well by the entire supporting cast.Background score from Deepak Dev is very impressive and apt for the thriller genre that this movie belongs to. The overall movie is dark as an overtone of things yet to come. The highlight of the movie surely is the climax which will surely hit you in a way you never see it coming. Several things in the movie are very implicit and you come out of the theater with a lot of questions. The director effectively conceals information in several scenes to prod the audience to think and arrive at conclusions. Only if one thinks and discusses about the movie even after coming out of the theater, will the spectator completely understand why things happened the way they happened and appreciate the sheer intellect that has gone into the making of this story. While it is totally agreeable that the conclusion is one of the most intellectual and unexpected twists to come in movies of this category, what works against the movie is precisely the same style of story telling which keeps too many things implicit. The film challenges the spectator to think too much on his own by not revealing a bit too much. Unless one is interested in thinking on why the story is so, one might end up thinking that the film was illogical and pointless in the first place. Prithviraj has one more movie to add to his list of memorable movie. He continues to solidify his reputation as a bankable and stupendous actor.Even if you might feel a little bored with the pace at which things move in the first half, stay patient till the end of the movie. It will surely leave you with a smile on your face as it totally deceives you.

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