7 to 4 – Movie Review

Story:

Anand Bachu, Raj Bala, Radhika, and Loukya are upright cops, but their mission is extra-legal. They wanted to curb the menace of rapist gangs in the city through legal means, but they failed due to political pressure and worse. Left with no option, the well-meaning but ruthless cops ignore the law to punish rapists. They are team who start their mission from 7:00 p.m. onwards. The lady cops pose themselves as women in need of lift or travel. Sexual predators who are also substance abusers sometimes fall into their trap. Once someone in the gang pounces on the lady cop to rape, he gets a rap and worse. The rapists are taken to an unknown location, their genitals are emasculated, and after being subjected to torture for several days, they are burnt alive.

On the other hand, a fellow cop grows suspicious and begins his own investigation into the happenings. The rest of the film is about how the upright cops go about their agenda, who is their pillar of strength, and more.

Analysis: The attitude of the main lead members reminds one of vigilantist characters like Bharateeyudu, Tagore, etc. The film relies on the idea that when the khaki-clad police are duty-minded, they will go to any extent to punish inhuman criminals. The director does a good job in so far as conveying the single-minded focus of the cops (including a tougher lady cop who can’t wait to castrate genitals of rapists) and also in evoking sympathy towards innocent girls/women who are trapped by savage gangs of lecherous men.

The first half is fairly gripping. The background music and songs by Snehalatha Murali that are part of the narration are good aspects. However, by the time it’s second half, the audience needs to be offered more. In this film, the cops’ characters don’t offer anything extra in the second half. Their conversations are dry and sometimes too formal. The plot involving a grandfather, his grandson and friends should have been dealt in a better way. There is no strong counter-force that the cops face. It’s a weakness.

The performances are apt for a film of this genre. The faces and their expressions convey the intended gory mood.

Bottomline:

Director-producer Vijay Sekhar Sankranthi makes a humble and honest attempt at telling a simple story of a team of cops who are out to make the city a safer place for women. He succeeds in the first half, but in the latter half, he doesn’t offer intelligent writing.