7 Hours To Go movie review: So much to do, so little time

Director: Saurabh Varma

Cast: Sandeepa Dhar, Shiv Pandit, Varun Badola, Natasa Stankovic

Investigative thrillers are quite intriguing to watch if made tactfully. ‘7 Hours To Go’ is a good attempt from director Saurabh Varma, however, it is let down by its shoddy narrative.  ‘7 Hours To Go’ revolves around the story of a man who holds 7 people as hostages after his girlfriend is murdered for an unknown reason.

Arjun Ranavat (Shiv Pandit) arrives Mumbai and it isn’t long before he witnesses the murder of his girlfriend Maya (Natasa Stankovic). Vengeance and rage drives him to take seven people as hostages in the high court. There, he appeals to the local police officer Ramesh Dhadhke (Varun Badola) to appoint his case to Nandini Shukla Ji (Sandeepa Dhar). Heading his plea, Shukla Ji a fearless ACP from Mumbai is put on the case to hunt down the real villain and free the seven hostages.

Nandini starts her investigation but in a surprise turn of events is misguided by Arjun, as he is simultaneously trying to catch the murderer himself. Will Nandini be able to catch the real murderer? Why is Arjun misguiding her when he himself had appealed for her to intervene in the case? This is something that will leave you dumbfounded in the first half. But in the rat race of catching the murderer, the story unravels several twists and turns that will leave you intrigued till the climax.

Director Saurabh Varma who has also written the film tries hard to confuse the audience but the truth isn’t exciting enough when the mystery unfolds in the end. Though the film is fast paced with its crisp story, it tends to loose its grip at several parts. Saurabh Varma, a has made a better film than his last two ventures - ‘Mickey Virus’ and ‘Solid Patels’.

I like the way Saurabh introduced his characters in the beginning, but I fail to understand what Kettan Singh aka Amol Palekar was doing in the film. His dual personality dialogues were corny and baseless to the investigation.

Cinematography by Milind Jog is convincing as he shot some picturesque aerial shots of the Mumbai skyline. Production designers Prashant Bidkar and Baji R. Patil’s sets were as real as they get, except for the villain’s office which shown through the filter of a surveillance camera.

Sandeepa Dhar who plays a role of an ACP, impresses with her ‘tough cop’ act that only gets better with the numerous chase sequences. However, there are a few loop holes in her character. For instance, which woman police officer changes her shiny white shirt in the store room and shows off her bra while on duty? Was it really necessary for a female cop to expose herself in the narrative? Unlike her girl next door, Sandeepa surely comes out of her comfort zone in this film, but she could have done much better in terms of voice modulation as a courageous cop. May be dubbing should be blamed here!  It is hard not to compare her act with that of Vidya Balan’s, who only recently pulled off a similar role with such ease in ‘TE3N’.

Shiv Pandit, who is known for his acts in ‘Shaitan’ and ‘Boss’, has improved a lot from his previous film. He looks and performs better in this film as compared to his run off the mill roles. Varun Badola gives comic relief to the film, but you will be taken aback when you get to know his purpose in the film. Professional shooter Tamim Chakri (Himanshu Malik) has nothing much to do in the film. Natasa Stankovic looks stunning with her curls and figure flattering clothes but she hardly have screen presence. Visual effects also play a pivotal part in the films narrative, however, that too is kept to the minimum.

‘7 Hours To Go’ will leave you tangled in a poorly woven web of multiple mysteries. The first half raises your expectations from the film, but all falls flat in the second half.  As there are multiple releases this Friday, the film has a fair chance at the box office where it will clash with ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’.

‘7 Hours To Go’ is not a good pick unless you want to witness a murder mystery of 114 minutes and wouldn’t mind leaving the theatre with a muddled head.