The names of AR Murugadoss and Udayanidhi Stalin made us believe in the potential of 7th Sense to be a trend-setting sci-fi film. Unfortunately, the film doesn't reach anywhere near accomplishing the feat it was expected to make. But, the film's inspiring message, the elements like comradeship, genetic science and DNA make it seem a doughty attempt on the part of the Ghajini maker. To be fair to AR, the film is no mean achievement for a South Indian director. The astonishing scale is awe-inspiring; however, the director tries to play to the gallery for the most part of first half by being conventional in style, thereby failing to be true to the story.
The film begins on a lavish scale. Set in the AD 520, it recreates both the centuries-old Pallava country in the south of the Vindhyas and the bucolic China in a realistic manner. Beginning on a high note, the narrator here tells us the story of Bodhidharma. A martial arts exponent, who was also a Charaka Samhitha cognoscente, Bodhidharma (Suriya) travels to China upon being instructed by his guru matha. Passing through many a landscape, he reaches the neighboring country, only to be ostracized by the xenophobic people in that part of China. Soon they realize that Bodhi possesses diviner powers after he heals those affected by a deadly disease by applying his knowledge of Bharatiya medicine. He attains a heroic status in the society when he defends the village from the onslaught of aliens in a remarkably executed fight. This gravity-defying action sequence, shot on Suirya and foreign fighters, is a visual treat. Imagine a fight where a clairvoyant hero who can control the five elements takes on armed men. This fight just lives up to your expectations. And, Suriya's Rasputinesque beard adds a saintly charm to the fight.
Coming back to the story, the film cuts to the present after the death of Bodhi. Aravind (Suirya again) is a circus performer, who lives in Chennai with an incredible lineage. Shuba Srinivas (Shruti Hassan) is a research scholar, who is pursuing genetic engineering and hopes to apply the study to her research of Bodhidharma' DNA. She aims to trigger the dormant genetic memory of the descendant of Bodhi with the highest percentage of his (Bodhi's) DNA. No prizes for guessing that Aravind is that descendant.
Meanwhile, China has plans to declare a bio-war on India by infecting at least 3 million Indians with a deadly virus (of the kind which killed lakhs of Chinese sixteen hundred years ago). But there is a threat to the success of its mission. Bodhidharma can return in the body of Aravind anytime if Shuba's futuristic experiment succeeds. (We are told that the idea is in its nascent stages in the US; nevertheless, our heroine is making fast progress in it even while having all the fun with our hero!). The tone for a larger-than-life stand-off is set when Dong Lee (Johnny Tri Nguye) comes to India to accomplish Operation Red and eliminate the brilliant Shuba.
How does Aravind comes to acquire the almost-superhuman powers of his ancestor, Bodhi? What problems do Shuba and he have to face in their selfless adventure of saving millions of life from being affected by the life-killing virus? Answers to these questions are answered in the second half, which is watchable not for the way the story unfolds but for two-three magnificent action episodes and a nice number.
First the positives. 7th Sense works great in bits and pieces. The first 15-minute block reminds you of what Kamal Hassan achieved in Dasavatharam. Ravi K Chandran's cinematography stands out here, where as narrator Mano's stentorian voice ratchets up the intensity. The characterization of the villain Dong Lee is another major high light. For a change, the destructive anti-hero possesses immense hypnotic powers and each sequence where he wrecks catastrophe after catastrophe is brilliant. (You have policemen gunning each other down, a nice road fight where vehicles fly and the common man takes on our hero and heroine under the magical influence of the villain). The way Shuba and friends plan to deal with the situation by locking themselves up in a lab located in the forest in the vicinity of IIT-Madras to work on reinvigorating Bodhi's genetic traits in Aravind works well. The discourse of genetic memory and engineering the DNA of a person is a fresh concept in an Indian film, but the director fails to take it forward. The genius of our ancestors is invoked to inspire the nation to bring back to life the buried wisdom of Indians. The graphics are eye-pleasing. Fortunately, the songs do not intrude the narrative in the second half.
On the flip side, the film has too many fault lines. To begin with, the romantic track that begins just after the flashback and continues to harass us till almost just before the interval block is, to say the least, misplaced. Where was the need for two duets and a tragedy song of the hero after he comes to know that Shuba is after him to use him for her research? The entire track is not imperative to the story. We understand the director/writer's commercial need to infuse the usual dose of filmi eccentricities, but the audience don't go to theaters expecting to see such stuff in a much-touted sci fi thriller. It would have made sense to keep it minimalist. A scene where Shuba is supposed to present her thesis idea ends up being a badly-written lecture on the antiquity and greatness of Telugu. Murugadoss wastes the opportunity to build up the momentum all through. Instead of exploring the technical aspects of the fundamental idea that runs through the film, which would have added a touch of esoteric sense to the proceedings, he keeps the film simple. The songs in the first half are intrusive. Dialogues could have been much better.
Suriya's character is, surprisingly, sketchy. He does justice to the role though. Shruti Hassan fits the bill and looks gorgeous in songs. The Vietnamese actor plays Dong Lee is superb. There is nothing to write about others who appear in blink-your-eye-and-you-will-miss-it cameos.
All in all, 7th Sense doesn't live up to the expectations. Murugadoss' attempt may be brave, but this technique falls flat. He should have known that this is not a Ghajini where the overplaying of the love element is obligatory.
Post Script: The biggest take away from the film is its message. "O ye! Children of the Rishis, unite. You have a world to win." As a loving citizen of India, you would wish Suriya's earnest appeal to all to revive the legacy of the countless mahatmas and spiritual scientists in the end, though not forcefully delivered, shall not go unheeded.
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