Shyamdhar's directorial debut '7th Day' starring Prithviraj triggered great expectations but it falls flat like cola without any fizz. While it is a well-packaged thriller movie, it does not impress.
7th Day Movie Review : THE STORY
7th Day begins with David Abraham IPS (starring Prithviraj) who is a special investigation officer with Crime Branch but he is under suspension. While driving a jeep, he hits a bike with two bike travelers.
From their expressions and body language, this scene disturbs you. It is as though you can sense the conflicts between the two characters seated together and unexpectedly thrown off the bike. While the fall should have brought them in sync with each other, at least in defence of the stranger, it shows interestingly a clear rift between them. This scene is well-shot and delivered.
The two bikers are Vinu Ramachandran (starring Anu Mohan who had acted as rapist in Theevram) and Shan (starring Vinay fort who has several good films to his credit including Theevram).
Following the accident, Vinu has a small injury in the forehead and David persuades them to get into the jeep and takes them to a nearby hospital. From this hospital, Vinu goes missing, David drops Shan back to his home and the following day, David finds that Vinu has committed suicide. This intrigues him and he goes back to find Shan whose house has been attacked in the short span of hours after David had dropped him. He assures Shan that he will do everything to help if he would tell him what the problem is.
Now the story actually begins with the flashback of friends in their gang comprising of - Eby Philip (starring Tovino Thomas), Jessica and Cyril Philip. The five good friends are as close as family but they get into trouble with the mafia when crores of counterfeit money make an unexpected entry in their life. That's when they begin to run for their lives and you know what the rules are when you fight to survive - it's survival of the fittest.
What happens to their friendship and how each of one of them begin to change and conspire - here begins the trail that David Abraham IPS begins to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle.
7th Day Movie Review: MEMORABLE SCENES
Prithviraj's 'salt and pepper' screen presence is impressive. The clear effort shown in terms of facial expressions, body movements, voice modulation is interesting. How he manipulates people to get the information he wants is also an interesting facet in his portrayal of the character he presents.
Prithviraj's 'salt and pepper' screen presence is impressive. The clear effort shown in terms of facial expressions, body movements, voice modulation is interesting. How he manipulates people to get the information he wants is also an interesting facet in his portrayal of the character he presents.
A memorable scene - he walks into an unauthorized lab and begins to flirt with the girl there to get the files that he wants. The suave style of flirting is delivered flawlessly and towards the end of the interaction, with a dash of light heard humor where he leaves his number saying, "Missed call adichaal mathi." That's a priceless scene and I simply LOVED the way Prithviraj does it.
It reminded me of a serious but unforgettable scene Mohanlal delivered in 'Rajavintey Makan' where he jots down his number on Ancy's (starring Ambika) wall calendar with a characteristic flourish that only Mohanlal can get away with. {I am a die hard Lalettan fan, you see!}
It reminded me of a serious but unforgettable scene Mohanlal delivered in 'Rajavintey Makan' where he jots down his number on Ancy's (starring Ambika) wall calendar with a characteristic flourish that only Mohanlal can get away with. {I am a die hard Lalettan fan, you see!}
Another scene - where he interacts with the watchman of a hospital - caught my interest. You can simply sit back and enjoy the fact that Prithviraj's method of acting is getting better and better.
7th Day Movie Review: PERFORMANCES
The young group of actors in their supportive roles are very good. Tovino Thomas (as Eby) has a great screen presence but needs to work harder with his dialogue delivery. Vinay Fort is fantastic and seems to be getting better and better with every film that he has been doing. I see a great range for him in terms of acting. His expressions, voice modulation, sense of timing and ability to fit the character makes him stand out.
The character 'Cycle' is noteworthy starring Praveen Prem whose body language is excellent. The female lead (starring Janani Iyer) has no memorable performance to deliver but remains critical to the story's progress.
The character 'Cycle' is noteworthy starring Praveen Prem whose body language is excellent. The female lead (starring Janani Iyer) has no memorable performance to deliver but remains critical to the story's progress.
After portraying the pervert rapist in Theevram, it feels good to see Anu Mohan as a regular guy with dreams, aspirations and values. Personally, I hated Anu Mohan after watching Theevram. That also means he is a good actor at the end of the day.
7th Day Movie Review: VERDICT
7th Day is over hyped and it is not Prithviraj's best movie. It is a well-made thriller with some interesting performances to watch. There are some unexpected twists and turns but those are fleeting moments. There are no high suspense elements though several movie reviews that I had indicate so. The way the movie ended seemed equivalent to drinking nicely packaged cola without fizz.
Comments
@Poor-me: We all relate and rate films differently:)