Pretty Good

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

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.

Once again débutantes proved to be good. Shyam Dhar being a new comer did his direction very well. His work is above average for a débutante. But the screenplay is lagging. Cinematography is average.The film is all about friendship, love and a lot of money. The story revolves around a group of friends. As the story starts Prithviraj delivers a monologue saying his thoughts on X'mas and crimes. Later he gets involved in an accident with two youngsters on a bike whose behaviour seems to be odd and suspicious. He offers them help. Here starts the mystery. Prithviraj reveals that he is an IPS officer. From there on everything is thrilling. The plot is full of suspense.As expected Prithviraj is fantastic. He has done his job very well. He investigates the mystery in an extra ordinary manner. And ultimately we are fed with answers to everything. But the script is not flawless. "We could expect what is going to happen eventually". But still the climax is fine. Deserves 7/10

This came up on my radar a couple of weeks previously, and I've been rewarded with some fantastic Malayalam movies this year, so my expectations from this one, esp. reading the social media sound-bites from the main protagonist, where he indicated that having a trailer out for this one might do the suspense element in the movie a dis-service. This works much like 'Vantage Point' or '11:14' did, if you've seen those already. However, it is a piece of original work, though if it had been narrated in a straight- forward manner, there would have been nothing special about it. So, being original, it still doesn't have much meat, IMO.The technical values are all good, though a few musical numbers could've been done without. The cinematography is above-average, as are the production and art design aspects. The editing, as befits a movie with this kind of narrative, ably supports the story-telling. The performances are definitely above-average. The guy who gave a great performance as Nivin Pauly's character's harried dad in '1983' has one scene, quite strong. The leading lady of 'Thegidi' plays a key character in this one too, and her make-up here is not as distracting as it was in that one (but anyone could've played the role she plays). Nivin Pauly's character's mom from 'Ohm Shanthi Oshaana' also has 2-3 scenes, but nothing substantial.The makers leave a lot of red herrings leading to the final denouement, including a couple of holes when you analyze the entire work in greater detail, but the movie doesn't suffer from those as those in genre would.Some critics have been cribbing about the dialoguing that goes on every few sequences, but I felt that they had been purposefully placed, and I was happy that they were, considering everything that they cumulatively lead up to. Nice way to place a mainstream dumbing-down technique to make one's point, and having that fulfill the purpose of pulling wool over the audience's eyes.One more thing on the score - when the movie starts out, it starts strong, very strong. And supported ably by the sound design too. However, after the 20 minute mark, it starts sounding like every other commercial potboiler, and subtlety takes a long, long hike, never to return, ending in cacophonous themes throughout. This is completely the opposite of the approach in another recent release, '1983', which started off bad (from the perspective of score), and settled into something simpler/subtle. That kinda detracted from the overall experience as well.Verdict: Definitely better than your run-of-the-mill mainstream feature, and though you don't need to trek up to the cinema to watch it, it deserves a viewing nonetheless.

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