2014 has been a relatively good year for Malayalam Cinema with a couple of absolute gems, namely 1983 & Neram, and so when I ran a google check for the 10 best Malayalam movies of 2014, 7th day was one of the movies that popped up on a few lists. So it was with a bit of anticipation that I started watching this so called thriller. Prithviraj is a relatively good actor to be honest. He could be better if he wipes that smirk off his face. The movie is as disappointing as they come. You can spot the suspense from a mile away.Its time the movie industry stopped milking, The Usual Suspects. Why is it so necessary that every group of friends should include one fat obnoxious guy ? Is this an unwritten rule in Cinema ? And what is with Malayalam Cinema and foreign sounding names. The bloke's name is Christopher Moriarty for crying out loud. When did the Spaniards come to India ? Good thing they did not decide to go with Morientes. Another bloke is named Ebenezer. What next, Eliaquim Mangala ? What happened to the good old names like John & Matthew. Most of the support cast in the movie cannot act and so they try to compensate for their lack of acting skills with their eyes. Its just one amazing eye expression after another. Badly written. Badly acted. Badly shot though some of the locales look magnificent. Prithviraj is probably the only redeeming factor about the movie. Definitely not recommended.I might have to watch Neram again to get this movie out of my head.

Movie Name: 7th Day Language : Malayalam Rating : 4/5The 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.www.facebook.com/FilmyChowk

When you walk into the theatre you don't expect much from a debut director.But as the story picks pace,we see some flawless performance by all the actors. Even if you are not an ardent fan of prithviraj, this performance is going to make you think twice. Prithviraj at his best. The music ,the sound effects and the camera are perfect. The film is comparable to a Hollywood thriller . And the suspense and twist in the climax is going to keep you rooted to the seat stunned. Go watch it just for the climax. If the movie dhrisyam is a trendsetter, this movie creates a new benchmark for malayalam thrillers. It's worth shelling the bucks.A must watch...period.

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