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7 Aum Arivu

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7 Aum Arivu (Tamil pronunciation: [eːɻaːm ariʋu]; lit. 7th Sense) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language science fiction martial arts film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, featuring Suriya in dual roles, along with Shruti Haasan and Johnny Trí Nguyễn in supporting roles. In the film, a medical student enlists the help of a circus artist, who is a descendant of Bodhidharma, to revive the legend's skills and knowledge, while a Chinese mercenary with hypnotic powers starts a government-planned biological war against India.

7 Aum Arivu
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. R. Murugadoss
Written byA. R. Murugadoss
Produced byUdhayanidhi Stalin
StarringSuriya
Shruthi Hassan
Johnny Trí Nguyễn
Cinematography
Edited byAnthony
Music byHarris Jayaraj
Production
company
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Release date
  • 25 October 2011 (2011-10-25)
Running time
168 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹80 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹90–100 crore[2][3][4]

The film, produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin began production in June 2010 and was completed by July 2011. 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 Legacy Effects. It was also dubbed into Telugu as 7th Sense which released simultaneously along with the Tamil original.[5] The film was one out of several films selected by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce for being the Indian submission for Oscar under the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[6][7]

Plot

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Bodhidharma, a master of martial arts and medical remedies, is the son of a great Indian king of the Pallava dynasty. He is sent to China by his guru, who requests him to stop the spread of an epidemic existing there from spreading to India. Initially, the Chinese treat him as an inferior. However, when he cures a little girl infected by the disease and defeats people who ill-treated the villagers, the Chinese then 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. After several years, when he expresses his desire to return to India, the villagers believing that their village would be free of diseases if he were buried there, plot to poison him and bury him near the temple. Bodhidharma agrees to die and subsequently becomes a fundamental figure in Chinese history, affectionately being dubbed as "Damo".

In modern-day China, Dong Lee, a soldier working for the Chinese government, is given the task of starting a government-planned biological war against India, dubbed as Operation Red. He arrives in Chennai and commences by injecting a virus into a pariah dog, with the virus being the same strain as the one from Bodhidharma's time. Meanwhile, Subha Srinivasan, a genetics student, discovers that Bodhidharma can be brought back to life if his sample of DNA is matched with another sample of DNA. Coincidentally, she finds a matching sample in Aravind, a descendant of Bodhidharma who is working as a circus artist. Dong Lee finds out about Subha's mission to revive Bodhidharma and plans to kill her first.

Subha approaches Aravind for the sake of the mission. One day, Aravind's family sees Subha and clearly remember that she visited them a year before to find Aravind and know all about him for her research on Bodhidharma. Saving herself, she lies by saying that she does not know them. Later that night, Aravind's uncle explains all of what happened a year prior to meeting Subha. Aravind meets her and is enraged upon realising the truth. However, the next day, he reconciles with her and agrees to contribute to the research. The research begins to resurrect Bodhidharma and to end Operation Red. Meanwhile, Dong Lee continues to wreak havoc on the city.

Subha goes to her genetics department and announces that Operation Red can be stopped if they read and make use of the cures in a book written by Bodhidharma. However, the department refuses to believe and looks down on her, claiming that an ancient book is of no use in modern times, much to her dismay. After some time, she and Aravind learn that her professor from the genetics department is assisting Dong Lee in Operation Red. They sneak into the professor's apartment and learn about the operation. The next day, the professor is caught red-handed by Aravind, Subha, and her friends Ashwin, Imran, Malathi and Nisha but surrenders and explains that he received a huge sum of money from the Chinese government to carry out Operation Red. After the professor gives the group more details about Operation Red and how to stop it, they leave. However, Dong Lee eventually arrives, and the professor once again teams up with him to save his own life.

Subha, Aravind, and their gang barely escape from an attempt on their lives by Dong Lee. They finally locate a research centre where they can complete their research and decide to make it their base of operation for a few days. They all deactivate their phones so that nobody can trace them. However, Dong Lee traces them through Malathi and Imran. Dong Lee then locates the research centre. Subha and her friends in the research centre escape in a van, but Dong Lee chases them, and the van turns around and collapses. An unconscious Aravind eventually awakens Bodhidharma's powers, using them to prevail and kill Dong Lee in battle. Aravind uses an ancient medicine to cure the disease, marries Subha and finally tells the press about the importance of Indian history.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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The film was announced in May 2010.[8][9]

Casting

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Initial reports suggested that Suriya would play three characters; a circus artist,[10] a scientist and a Buddhist monk, for a portion set in China in the 5–6th century.[11] However, it was clarified that the scientist's role would be performed by the female lead, Shruti Haasan,[12] 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 Trí Nguyễn was signed to play the antagonist,[13] while Kannada actor Avinash[14] and Abhinaya were selected to play minor supporting roles in the film.[15][16]

Influences

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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 the original.[17] After completing the film, he emphasised that he had not been inspired by or remade any film, stating that Hollywood filmmakers can "feel free to remake 7aum Arivu".[18]

Filming

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Filming began in June 2010.[19] The first schedule of the film was completed in China[20] and those fifteen minutes of the edited film reportedly cost ₹15 crore.[21] Later, some shots were canned in Trichy and later at Ampa Skywalk,[22][19] followed by the song Oh Ringa Ringa in Besant Nagar,[23][24] for which 1000 junior artists were allotted,[25] and a stunt sequence in Perambur. In the process, Suriya had an ankle injury due to which the shot was postponed for three days.[26] Suriya underwent physical training for a kung fu sequence within 16 days, following cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran's request.[27] Shabina Khan designed the costumes for Suriya and Shruti, staying with the team throughout the filming process in Bangkok and Hong Kong.[28] The song "Mun Andhi" was shot in Thailand.[29] Filming was completed by July 2011.[30] The visual effects of the film were done by Legacy Effects at an approximate cost of ₹10 crore. It is their second Indian film after Enthiran (2010).[31]

Music

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Main article: 7 Aum Arivu (soundtrack)

The soundtrack featured musical score composed by Harris Jayaraj in his second collaboration with Murugadoss after Ghajini (2005).[32] The lyrics for the songs were written by Pa. Vijay, Na. Muthukumar, Kabilan and Madhan Karky, who wrote a Chinese track.[33] The album was released by Sony Music on 22 September 2011 at a launch event held in Chennai Trade Centre.[34][35]

Release

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Bharath Creations bought the rights for the film in US and Canada.[36] The film's worldwide theatrical rights were sold for ₹60 crore.[37] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.[38] The film was given a U certificate by the Censor Board,[39] but did not get the 30 percent entertainment tax waiver until more than 100 days after release.[40] The film was scheduled for a Diwali release on 26 October 2011; with producer Udhayanidhi Stalin's intervention, it was brought forward by one day, opening ahead of the other films.[41] The distribution rights in Kerala were acquired for ₹2.4 crore, releasing in more than 100 screens.[42] In Chennai, the film released in 51 screens.[43] 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.[44] A special screening was shown to actor Kamal Haasan.[45] In Malaysia, the film was released in record 53 screens. In the US, the film was released in both Tamil and Telugu in 50 screens.[46][47]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Rediff gave it 3 out of 5, noting that it was "worth a watch" and had "several things working for it".[48] 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".[49]

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".[50] N. Venkateswaran of The Times of India rated the film 3 stars out of 5, saying, "If the movie deserves a look, it is only because of the ever-dependable Suriya" and criticised Shruti Haasan's dialogue delivery.[51] J. Hurtado of Screen Anarchy wrote, "7aam Arivu is a good film with flashes of greatness. It is bogged down with commercial elements that do a grave disservice to the film we could have seen".[52] Reviewing the Telugu-dubbed version, Jeevi of Idlebrain.com rated the film three out of five and wrote that "7th Sense is an example for a big-star-cast-huge-budgeted movie that looks wonderful on the paper, but falters in the execution. The concept is innovative, but format/screenplay/arch is not good enough to narrate this story in an arresting fashion".[53]

Box office

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7 Aum Arivu had a strong opening on 25 October, a day prior to Diwali.[54] The film earned ₹40.25 crore in its six-day opening weekend from all over the world.[55] In Chennai alone, the film grossed ₹9 crore in its lifetime.[56] Indian film trades considered the film a commercial success,[56][57] despite a high budget and distribution price. 7aum Arivu is thought to have grossed an estimated ₹90 crore–₹100 crore[2][3][4] worldwide in its lifetime.

Controversies

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Some criticism toward the film involved historical inaccuracies pertaining to Bodhidharma. According to researchers, he had travelled from India to China with the 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 by film historian S. Theodore Baskaran with other Tamil films about history and folklore which had been historically inaccurate like Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Parthiban Kanavu.[58] Babu T. Raghu, a Buddhist teacher, noted 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. Babu added that he had material evidence to prove it, while sparking off a hunger strike across the country on Bodhidharma's followers.[59][60] Other sources also reported a similar issue.[61]

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 compared with the game.[62]

The film was sent for CBFC certification with a dummy background score, and the official re-recording happened thereafter, triggering protests demanding re-certification.[63]

References

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