| 7aum Arivu | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | A. R. Murugadoss |
| Produced by | Udhayanidhi Stalin |
| Written by | A. R. Murugadoss |
| Starring | Suriya Shruti Haasan Johnny Tri Nguyen |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
| Cinematography | Ravi K. Chandran |
| Editing by | Anthony |
| Studio | Red Giant Movies |
| Distributed by | Red Giant Movies |
| Release date(s) | 26 October 2011 |
| Running time | 168 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | 84 crore (US$15.96 million)[1] |
| Box office | 98.9 crore (US$18.79 million)[2] |
7aum Arivu (Tamil: 7ஆம் அறிவு; English: Seventh Sense) is a 2011 Tamil science fiction thriller film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, featuring Suriya, Shruti Haasan and Johnny Tri Nguyen. The film, produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin began production in May 2010; it was released on 25 October 2011 in Chennai and a day later, on Diwali, worldwide. The visual effects for the film were done by US based Legacy effects, making this their second Indian film after Enthiran.[3]
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The film depicts the fictional life[4] of Bodhidharma (Suriya), a master of martial arts and medical remedies, who is depicted in the film as the son of a great Tamil king of the Pallava Dynasty. He is sent to China by his guru, who requests him to stop the spread of a pandemic disease existing there from spreading to India. Initially the people in China treated him as an inferior but later when he cures a little girl from the deadly disease and fights against some people who ill treated villagers there, the people of China began to respect and worship him. He begins to teach them how to cure many diseases, the skills of hypnotism and the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan. However after few years, when he expresses his desire to return to India, the villagers plot to poison him and bury him near the temple, believing that their place would be disease free if he's buried there. Bodhidharma agrees to die and subsequently becomes a fundamental figure in Chinese history, affectionately being dubbed as Damo.
The film switches to modern day China, where Dong Lee (Johnny Tri Nguyen) is given the task of starting a government planned biological war against India, known as Operation Red. Dong Lee starts this operation by injecting a virus into a street dog. This disease was the one which occurred during the time of Bodhidharma in China. Meanwhile Subha Srinivasan (Shruti Haasan) researched that Bodhidharma can be brought back to life if his sample of DNA is matched with another sample of DNA which she finds in Aravind (Suriya) a descendant of Bodhidharma who is working as Circus artist in Chennai. Shuba tries to give life to Bodhidharma to end the menace of Dong Lee. But Dong Lee, who is capable of doing anything, does all impossibly bad things, mastered in 'Nokku Varmam' (Hypnotism), a martial art which was actually taught to the Chinese by Bodhidharma. Shuba with the help of her friends from her genetic department tries to activate the Bodhidharma DNA in Aravind in a research centre. But Dong Lee with the help of Shuba's professor who had received a huge sum of money from the China government helps him to trace the location of Shuba and her friends. But after Dong Lee traces them he then kills the professor. Dong Lee then locates the place of the research centre. Shuba and her friends in the research centre try to escape in a van but Dong Lee chases them and the van collapses. Aravind was beaten badily by Dong Lee at first then Arvind manages to regain Bodhidharma skills somehow in spite of the sunrays hitting him on his face which was not supposed to happen and a day before he was estimated to regain his skills. Then Aravind gets Bodhidharma's talent and defeats Dong Lee. Later Aravind eradicates the virus spreading and then he gives a lecture about the need for us to remember our history and to teach all our practices in the name of science and not god.
Initial reports suggested that Suriya would play three characters; a circus artist,[5] a scientist and a Buddhist monk,[6] for a portion set in China in the 5-6th century.[7] However, it was clarified that the scientist's role would be performed by the female lead, Shruti Haasan[8] while Suriya would play a modern day circus artist as well as Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th century. Vietnamese actor and martial artist Johnny Tri Nguyen was signed to play the antagonist,[9] while Kannada actor Avinash [10] and Abhinaya of Naadodigal fame were selected to play minor supporting roles in the film.[11][12]
Sources claimed that the film drew inspirations from Christopher Nolan's Inception. However, the director dismissed the news, reasoning that he had begun shooting much before the release of Inception. Murugadoss further denied reports that the film was a remake of the Bollywood flick Chandni Chowk to China, as both were supposed to be set in China, and that the film's concept was similar to that of the Hollywood film Perfume, confirming the script as original.[13] After completing the film, he emphasized that he had not been inspired or remade any film, stating that Hollywood filmmakers can "feel free to remake 7aum Arivu".[14]
The first schedule of the film was completed in China.[15] Later, some scenes were shot in Chennai, in the Ampa Skywalk Mall,[16] followed by the song Oh Ringa Ringa in Besant Nagar,[17][18] for which 1000 junior artists were alloted,[19] and a stunt sequence in Perambur. In the process, Suriya had an ankle injury due to which the shot was postponed for a period of 3 days.[20] Suriya trained to get a Six pack abs for a Kung Fu sequence within 16 days, following cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran's request.[21] Shabina Khan designed the costumes for Suriya and Shruti, staying with the team throughout the filming process in Bangkok and Hong Kong.[22] The song "Mun Andhi" was shot in Thailand.[23]
The Visual effects of the film were done by Legacy effects at an approximate cost of 10 crore, who had made an impact in Hollywood for their work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar.[3]
| 7aum Arivu | ||||
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Original CD cover |
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| Soundtrack album to 7aum Arivu by Harris Jayaraj | ||||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 30:29 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Sony Music | |||
| Producer | Harris Jayaraj | |||
| Harris Jayaraj chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Behindwoods | [24] |
| Rediff | [25] |
The soundtrack, composed by Harris Jayaraj, consists of six songs including a Chinese track, sung by Chinese singer Hau.[26] It marks the second collaboration of Jayaraj and Murugadoss after the success of Ghajini. Lyrics were penned by Madhan Karky. The audio rights of the album were bagged by Sony Music reportedly for a whopping amount.[27] The composition of the soundtrack took place in Singapore.[28] The audio was released on September 22, 2011 in Chennai Trade Centre in a grand manner.[29] The event was hosted by Jai and Anjali, lead pair of Murugadoss' production Engeyum Eppodhum, while Bollywood actress Isha Sharvani, Lakshmi Rai and several international artists performed on stage,[30] which were choreographed by Shobi.[23] Actors Dhanush, Karthi, Jiiva, Jayam Ravi, Vishal Krishna and Ram Charan Teja attended the function,[30] with Dhanush releasing the trailer.[23] Though initial reports said that Shahrukh Khan would appear in the launch, it was later dismissed.[31]
| Track listing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length | |||||
| 1. | "Oh Ringa Ringa" | P. Vijay | Roshan, Jerry John, Benny Dayal & Suchitra | 5:34 | |||||
| 2. | "Mun Andhi" | Na. Muthukumar | Karthik & Megha | 6:14 | |||||
| 3. | "Yellae Lama" | Na. Muthukumar | Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Shalini & Shruti Hassan | 5:21 | |||||
| 4. | "Yamma Yamma" | Kabilan | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & Swetha Mohan | 6:06 | |||||
| 5. | "Innum Enna Thozha" | P. Vijay | Balram, Naresh Iyer & Suchith Suresan | 4:58 | |||||
| 6. | "The Rise of Damo" (Chinese song) | Madhan Karky | Hao Wang | 3:16 | |||||
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Total length:
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30:29 | ||||||||
The soundtrack received mixed response. P.G. Devi from Behindwoods gave 3.5/5 and commented: "The album promises a couple of big chart-busting hits like the peppy 'Ringa Ringa', the melodious 'Mun Andhi' and the pathos-ridden 'Yamma Yamma'. Though there is a déjà vu feel all around the album, its a sure shot commercial success".[24] Indiaglitz stated that "the unique stamp of Harris can be felt throughout the disc, and that makes songs [...] a treat to senses", recommending it for "those who love and appreciate good music".[32] Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff.com provided 2.5/5, mentioning that "it looks like Harris Jeyaraj has run out of steam. While Yemma Yemma and The Rise of Damo are appealing, the rest sound like he remixed some of his own older numbers, or chose to be inspired by other classics [...] 7aum Arivu's music does have its moments, but these are few and far between."[25] Prakash Upadhyaya from Oneindia.in said that the album had "variety of songs. The soundtracks will have larger appeal when it is watched."[33]
The film was scheduled for a Diwali release on 25 October 2011; with producer Udhayanidhi Stalin's intervention, it was brought forward by one day, opening ahead of the other films.[34] The satellite and promotional rights were sold to Sun Pictures.[35] Divya Pictures acquired the Kerala theatrical rights for 2.4 crore for release in more than 100 theaters,[36] while Bharat Creations bought the North American rights.[37] The film was given a U certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.[38] In Chennai, the film released in 51 screens.[39] The film was the largest release in Suriya's career, opening with 1000 prints worldwide, with 400 prints in Tamil Nadu alone. The Telugu dubbed version, 7th Sense had the second largest release in Andhra Pradesh for a dubbed film by opening up in 400 screens across the state.[40] A special screening was shown to actor Kamal Haasan.[41]
The film received mostly mixed reviews. Indiaglitz claimed that Murugadoss had made a "bold attempt" and "succeeded in it with the help of Suriya and Udhayanidhi Stalin", lauding him for "conveying a bitter truth [...] in a sugar coating", and going on to claim it to be a "winner in all his invasions".[42] Behindwoods described it as "technical finesse catering to commercial compulsions", giving the film 3 out of 5.[43] Rediff.com gave 3 out of 5, noting that it was "worth a watch" and had "severals things working for it".[44]Sify called the film "average", writing that "the effort of Murugadoss to make a special kind of film is laudable but seems to lack the imagination required to pull off what he set out to achieve".[45] Nowrunning.com rated it 3/5 stating that "a hopeful beginning makes this routine fare an absolute disappointment. This is not a bad film. You just expect better from a director like Murugadoss".[46]
The film had driven many controversies and sparked of various debates upon release, with the most notable one being the historical inaccuracies pertaining to the character Bodhidharma. According to experts, he had travelled from India to China with a main intention of propagating Buddhism and his portrayal as a man with "medicinal knowledge" and his expertise at "martial arts" were not well received by the viewers who claimed that the film gives too much emphasis on his identity as a Tamilian rather than highlighting the other facts. The film was compared with other Tamil films about history and folklore which had been historically inaccurate like Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Parthiban Kanavu.[47] A man named Babu T. Raghu had pointed out in a press conference that the monk was 150 years old when he reached China, while in the film they had depicted him in his 20s. He expressed his desire to debate with the film-makers, and also said that he had material evidence to prove it, while sparking off a hunger strike across the country on Bodhidharma's followers.[48] Other sources also reported a similar issue.[4]
Later, reports claimed that the film was very similar to the game Assassin's Creed. Some were of the opinion that the film and the game were based on the same concept, despite being different in other aspects. The film Velayudham, which had released alongside 7aum Arivu was also contrasted with the game.[49]
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