| Starring | Suriya, Shruti Haasan, Johnny Tri Nguyen |
|---|---|
| Music | Harris Jayaraj |
| Director | AR Murugadoss |
| Producer | Udhayanidhi Stalin |
| Year | 2011 |
Story
The story takes off in the 6th Century AD showcasing the Tamil Pallava king Bodhi Dharma (Suriya), who leaves to China from Kanchipuram and becomes a saint. He is an expert at martial arts, medicine and nokku varmam ( hypnotism) and he helps one whole village in the country with his arts. He teaches the martial arts and is the founder of Shaolin. He will be worshipped by all the Chinese as Tao after his demise. Cut to the present, Aravindh (Suriya) works as a circus artiste in Great Bombay Circus who falls for Suba Sreenivas (Sruthi), a research student. The duo becomes thick pals however Aravindh finds out that Suba has some motive behind her steps. Meanwhile, the Chinese government sends Dongli (Johnny Tri Nguyen), a martial art expert to India to accomplish the mission of Operation Red so as to kill Suba as she founds Aravinds DNA matches with that of Bodhidharma. How will they accomplish the task is all about the film.
Performances
As expected, Suriya amazes us with his performance in both the contrasting roles of Bodhidharma and a circus artist. The actor puts in his sincere efforts and all his hard work is visible on the screens. His dedication by the way he shapes up his physique for two distinct roles is laudable. He does such complex roles like Bodhidharma with ease and amazes us.
7am Arivu is a dream debut for Shruti Haasan. The multifaceted beauty has got a meaty role including few emotional scenes apart from the dance and romantic scenes. She looked like million bucks and her performance was okay. The actress has dubbed her own voice but she should have worked a bit more on that.
Johnny Tri Nguyen as the deadly villain is extraordinary and terrific. Let’s welcome him to the Tamil cinema. Rest of the cast did their bit as required.
Technical Analysis
Music by Harris Jayraj is fine and Mun Andhi stands out onscreen. However, most of the numbers are wrongly placed that disappoints you. Cinematography by Ravi K chandran is on top notch and each of the frames is richly constructed. Visual effects are good in parts especially the first 20 minutes is a treat to watch. Rajeevan’s art needs a special mention. He brought out the 5th century works to screens with perfection. Antony’s editing could have been crisper. Though the direction was good, it was the screenplay that lets you down. Screenplay is sluggish and dull that takes away your interest.
Analysis
Murugadoss should be applauded for coming up with such a novel idea but the director seems to have lacked in imagination to pull off the concept on screens. ARM has put the efforts in conveying the ancient story of Bodhidharma and has tried to connect it to the modern science. The concept rises up your curiosity to understand more of Bodhidharma and the ancient history. Unfortunately, 7am Arivu fails in engaging the audience to the screens. Such films need a taut screenplay in keeping the viewers completely hooked but sadly, 7am Arivu fails with amateurish and predictable sequences. Though, the film takes off well initially, it slowly loses its plot in the mid and unfortunately seem to be half-done.
Final Verdict
7am Arivu could have been better. Nevertheless, its historical background, the deadly villain, gorgeous Shruti Haasan and ofcourse sincere efforts by Suriya works for the film.