“ 7 am Arivu” is a decent movie with a novel plot , fine acting by the lead actors , hummable songs & fine cinematography. Movie is entertaining in parts but what makes it not work is the sluggish screenplay especially the first half which is a drag. Direction of the movie is poor which is astonishing considering the past works of A.R.Murugadoss. With such a powerful story the impact on the viewers ought to have been humongous. But sadly due to the listless direction by Murugadoss movie fails to create any emotional impact on the viewers.
Movie starts of in a powerful manner throwing light into the so-called history (or the legend..!) though one gets a docu feel especially the voice-over which is a typical “new-reel” like. But once the fable is done with & the movie travels to the present , the script nose-dives into the abyss. The contrast between the first 20 minutes & the rest of the first half is so stark that one right away feels uncomfortable sitting through the first half.
Second half picks up some pace & tries to spruce up the mood of the viewers. Though he twists & turns and the chases lack adrenaline it is a okayish part of the movie where one can actually sit through the proceedings. Though the sluggish screenplay & poor execution mars the poignancy of the happenings sparkling dialogues, Surya & Shruthi’s classy acting & Jhonny Tri Nguyen’s awesome screen presence are the brawny parts of the movie.
Surya excels in his role of Bhodidarman with his excellent body language especially the manner in which he communicates with his eyes , hats off..!! But as Arvind , Surya seems to be like a fish out of water. That he is uncomfortable with his characterization clearly shows on screen. He is not his regular confident self as Arvind in this movie.
After disastrous debuts in Hindi & Telugu (viz., Luck & Anaganaga O Dheerudu ) Shruthi Hassan makes her debut in Tamil with this movie. She has a very significant role in this movie. She is good in her emotions & is cute too. She has also dubbed on her own which is such a rarity nowadays & her dialogue delivery is flawless. Though her voice is the not your routine honey coated one , still it has some allure & charm.
Jhonny Tri Nguyen has a terrific screen presence & very agile with his footwork in the action sequences. Others in the cast look amateurish & acted very poorly.
“Mun Andhi” & “ Yellae Lama “ are hummable songs from Harris Jayaraj but his background score is not adequate. His poor background score is another reason why the emotions on paper don’t translate on screen.
That the cinematography is by Ravi K Chandran is evident only when have a re-look at the names of crew of the movie. There is nothing special to show that he has shot this movie except for the Bhodidharman part of the movie.
Anthony’s editing must have been crisper especially the first half.
The manner in which the movie was hyped & advertised that the movie will make Tamils around the world proud has led to its own undoing. Makers should desist from appealing to such petty parochialism. Just by making a movie inspired by a fable (which might not be even true) on a person whose identity as a Tamil is still in question & expecting the an average movie goer will watch it only to celebrate such a fallacy is downright plain ridiculous & dim-witted.
On the whole , “7 am Arivu” has a lot of potential but undone by the makers’ myopic vision & poor execution.
Bottomline : Heartless...!!
2.5 / 5
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