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Review: 7DMI brings magical realism to Karachi, leaving you spellbound

Review: 7DMI brings magical realism to Karachi, leaving you spellbound

Would you expect Mahira Khan to make you laugh out loud? I didn't and I was pleasantly surprised
Updated 19 Jun, 2018

Would you expect Mahira Khan to make you laugh out loud? I didn't.

With every role she takes on, it's becoming evident she's on a mission to reinvent herself, step out of her comfort zone and grow as an actor.

With Verna, she proved that she can be more than just a damsel in distress, heck, she was a total fighter. In Raees, we watched her hold her ground opposite SRK and in Saat Din Mohabbat In (7DMI), Mahira is funny.

No, really, she is. Like laugh out loud, "stop it you, my tummy's hurting" funny! I was pleasantly surprised to see her take on the role of the bubbly, vivacious and charming Neeli...who is in love with her cousin but more on that later.

What 7DMI's all about

In this Eid's most anticipated release, we're introduced to Tipu (Sheheryar Munawar), a dorky, timid 29-year-old who lives with his strict mother (Hina Dilpazeer) and spunky first cousin, Neeli (Mahira Khan). He has a dead-end job at a jewellery store and lives in the bustling neighbourhood of Saddar that serves as a prominent backdrop to the story.

We've become used to seeing glossy/made-up versions of Karachi on the big screen (Ho Mann Jahaan, Thora Jee Le, I could go on) but 7DMI gives us a peek into the everyday surroundings and lives of people living in the heart of the city. It’s got the same grungy feel Na Maloom Afraad which I guess isn't surprising since the cinematography for both has been done by Rana Kamran.

At its most basic level, 7DMI is a rom-com sprinkled with enchanting elements and is also described as a "coming-of-age" story, except the protagonist isn't a teenager transitioning into adulthood but I guess he may as well be.

In his quest to find true love and going from "zero to hero", he crosses paths with a sinister djinn called Dwarka Prasad (Javed Sheikh) who makes him a seemingly impossible to honour deal (because he's sabotaging him as he goes along): Tipu must find a woman with a mole on her face within a week and get her to fall in love with him. If he fails to fulfill this challenge, he will have to spend all of eternity as Dwarka's slave.

Enter Neeli, who is hopelessly enamoured of Tipu but engaged to someone else; Ghazala (Amna Ilyas), a women's right activist and the object of Tipu's fleeting affection, who gets arrested on their first date; and then there's Princess Sonu (Mira Sethi), a British Pakistani who also tugs at his heartstrings but things are not what they appear to be with her and get messy...fast.

This kick-starts his journey, or rather adds fuel to his search, to find the woman of his dreams and well, himself and the movie's pivotal question becomes: will Tipu ever find the love of his life? Or is he his own worst enemy?

What made 7DMI work?

SPOILERS AHEAD

The first shout-out goes to director duo Meenu and Farjad (the team behind Zinda Bhaag) who are just incredible story-tellers; they've managed to really extract the best of what this cast had to offer. Sheheryar's nervous energy and awkward mannerisms just jump off the screen bringing Tipu to life in a way that you forget you're watching a movie. After all, everyone knows a Tipu in their lives, someone a little odd, shy with a heart of gold. And who said nice guys always finish last?

And like I mentioned earlier, they managed to make Mahira do comedy. We had our reservations and they're gone now; the woman really is a jack of all trades.

Javed Sheikh is a hoot as the menacing Dwarka taking on a million different avatars, Hina Dilpazeer is extra as always and the audience loved seeing her onscreen judging by the laughter in the cinema every time she appeared.

Aamir Qureshi was the underdog. When we're first introduced to Kankatta, Neeli's thug of a fiancé, I was less than impressed. It came off like a weak Sanjay Dutt impression, enough to prompt some secondhand embarrassment. However, towards the movie's climax, his character also manages to scoop up some serious chuckles and was still a more relevant character than Princess Sonu.

Danish Maqsood as Tipu's sidesick Tingu Master also added some terrific comic relief and I appreciate that here was an individual with dwarfism who was shown as a well-rounded character in mainstream cinema, who was allowed to shine and not boxed into a role that played into stereotypes.

What really tied the whole movie together was the art direction and cinematography. Honestly? 7DMI wouldn't have been bearable if it wasn't so darn visually appealing. The production value is striking: better special effects than I've ever seen in a Pakistani movie, coupled with thoughtfully curated and funky styling and you don't want to take your eyes off the screen.

Oh and I've had 'Yunhi Raste Mein' by Ali Sethi and Aima Baig on repeat since last night so you know the music did the trick excluding that dispensable item number featuring Rimal Ali. Man, can she dance but Rimal’s appearance added nothing to the story (you’ll know what I mean when you see it).

What didn't work

While Fasih Bari Khan is an intelligent writer, no doubt about it, the movie's story was a let-down.

All the little twists in the tale, you see them coming, and in parts it seemed obvious that sequences have been "inspired" (read: lifted) from other movies such as the old school black comedy, Bedazzled (Elizabeth Hurley = Javed Sheikh) or when Sheheryar appears in the guise of a moulvi (come on, we've all seen Andaz Apna Apna!).

Tell me you see it!

Scenes reminiscent of lousy Bollywood films were a dime a dozen; I would know because I watch those too, an example off the top of my head being when Tipu puts on his glasses in the morning only to realise his eyesight's been miraculously fixed (from Koi Mil Gaya, which took it from Spider-Man so think about that!).

It's unfortunate because the movie itself comes off really unique on all other accounts, even if it's just because it's the first of its kind in Pakistani cinema.

There are plot-holes and a handful of unnecessary bits, some reliance on clichés. Mira Sethi's character could've easily been omitted. Yes, she looks good onscreen but the accent was cringe-worthy and her grandmother, Pino (Beo Zafar) was actually the only redeeming character from that storyline.

I understand that their interaction teaches Tipu a thing or two about being courageous in love and all that jazz but they could've driven that point home in a more impactful way, starting with giving Sethi a fleshed-out, interesting character to work with.

Speaking of interesting characters, things were shoddy on the character development front; I wasn't sold on Sheheryar's transformation. He suddenly becomes this suave, appealing guy after Neeli takes him shopping and gives him a makeover. Here's why it wasn't convincing: Neeli needed a makeover herself! She was a woman in her late 20s walking around with bow clips in her hair.

Maybe that was the whole point the filmmakers were trying to make, that it wasn't much of a transition to begin with because the "hero" was always in him but I think that might just be me giving them the benefit of the doubt.

And of course, how could I not talk about the feminism angle? Ghazala is referred to as a feminist but is shown to be a misandrist, participating in secret meetings in dingy rooms where women get together to plot against men. I hope the filmmakers were being sarcastic with her portrayal because that's the only thing that makes sense to me. That being said, maybe satire wasn't the best approach in this case because we all know feminism already has a bit of an image problem, especially in this country.

She's shown as an independent woman who succumbs to becoming putty in the hands of the first guy who sends her a "decent" text. I was rooting for her when she intervened at Neeli and Kankatta's nuptials because ain't no forced marriage happening on her watch, but still, can men do their research on feminism before writing about it, please?

Now, let's discuss the elephant in the room. Tipu and Neeli are cousins, first cousins. The very first scene of the movie starts off with Tipu having a weird dream/nightmare featuring Neeli reciting sultry poetry in a garden. When he's awake though, he's a little more sensible. Neeli on the other hand is clearly gaga over him.

It's disturbing that Pakistani media has normalicised romantic aspirations for your cousins. And no, I don't want to hear the "but cousin marriages are common practice in Pakistan" argument. Yes, it is and you know what, it shouldn't be. If well-informed and smart filmmakers and actors are not going to put a stop to this, who will?

We keep recycling this narrative of two romantic leads being related on television (Khan's a repeat offender, remember Sadqay Tumharay?) but it's certainly spilling into movies now.

I'm frankly annoyed because we got what we were deprived of in Ho Mann Jahaan but why, WHY did they have to be cousins? The two have such sincere chemistry but this was just the one thing I couldn't wrap my head around. Every time Neeli would mention their imaginary "munna" or get all googly-eyed at the sight of Tipu, I just kept thinking "Dude, he's your khala's son."

Sigh. Baby steps.

The final verdict?

I usually take what the team behind a movie says prior to its release with a pinch of salt. In the case of 7DMI, lots of promises were made, some of which were that it's "something fresh" and "an entertainer through and through".

Well, they've kept their word. I'm not going to say much more. Go watch it, you won't regret spending your Eidi on this.

Saat Din Mohabbat In releases worldwide on June 15, 2018.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Comments

Maryam Jun 15, 2018 03:11pm
The cousin bit is really disturbing. I wonder what they were thinking.
Recommend (0)
Jialo Wadero Jun 15, 2018 03:34pm
I must compliment the Writer on highlighting the most important point the Cousins romancing shown in the Movies and TV stories.Cousins are part of the family and blood relatives.To see cousin brother and cousin sister in such roles is extremely annoying and psychologically disturbing.There should be total respect for blood relationship.
Recommend (0)
sweetie420 Jun 15, 2018 03:50pm
ok definitely watching it now!
Recommend (0)
Farhad Jun 15, 2018 04:08pm
Bits from the review: - “There are plot-holes and a handful of unnecessary bits, some reliance on clichés.” - “Mira Sethi's character could've easily been omitted.” - “Speaking of interesting characters, things were shoddy on the character development front; I wasn't sold on Sheheryar's transformation.” - “It's disturbing that Pakistani media has normalicised romantic aspirations for your cousins.” How can someone generously give 4 stars to a movie even after having so many issues with it? From what I have read, Ms. Chagani did not like anything about this movie except: the ability of Mahira Khan to make us laugh, and the film’s art direction and cinematography. There is clearly a problem here.
Recommend (0)
N abidai Jun 15, 2018 08:51pm
This is a magical fairy tales, rom com,comedy, Mahira khan is going from strength to strength, what I like she takes risks. Most actresses with glamorous tag attached, are sensitive about how beautiful they look, Mahira becomes the character, kudos to Mahira for becoming an actress! The cast was outstanding! Pak film industry is really doing a very good job, everyone ,should go watch this film,and start giving pak blockbuster films,so, the world will notice,pak brand ,first!
Recommend (0)
Jojo Jun 16, 2018 02:07am
Running out now to buy ticket. Can’t wait to watch!
Recommend (0)
Noreen Jun 16, 2018 04:28am
Thanks for pointing out this outdated incestuous relationship which is causing inbreeding. Look at the business point of view. No other religion allows it anymore and its' really cringe worthy for them to look at it. You have to make the product consumer friendly or you will not reach to wider audience. Pakistanis living g aboard are married to their cousins but they are embarrassed to introduce their spouse to their co-workers, neighbors and friends. Why do it then?
Recommend (0)
Asif Jafri Jun 18, 2018 04:22pm
I usually respects Dawn as one of the non-biased reviews for (Pakistani) movie. In fact, few movies we skipped after reading the -ve reviews from Dawn. Buck stop here. This movie was boring from top to bottom. This was the only movie in my life, we opted to leave in the middle. Not only I lost my hard earned $30 but lost my believe in dawn reviews for movies. Later I realized It was produced under the umbrella of Dawn. Very bad movie and very wrong review.
Recommend (0)
saba Jun 19, 2018 11:40am
This film intentionally twist classical film tropes to convey social commentary eg: Neeli's hairstyle - the maasum good girl can also have a killer fashion sense without dressing like an Instagram drone. Amna Ilyas is still looking for love and warmth against the stereo typical womens rights ngo aunty image. Tipu is changing from the inside not the outside. His vision and perception is changing that's why the glasses scene here is completely different (yet similar) from SpiderMan.
Recommend (0)
Aamer Jun 19, 2018 11:48am
I watched this movie over the eid holidays and just loved it, very good acting and great visual affects. Mahira Khan looked very beautiful, just loved her dressings and hair styles. Shehrayer was good. I am not a fan of Mira Sethi but she won me over with her acting. All actors were good but I was disappointed with Hina Dilpazares work, she always makes us laugh. I was expecteing more from her.
Recommend (0)
Mah Jun 20, 2018 12:46am
Where can i find dawn news interviewing karachi crowd? Which aired on june 19
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