Rating: C+
Dir: Khijir Hayat Khan
Star: Khijir Hayat Khan, Intekhab Dinar, Zakia Bari Momo, Hamidur Rahman
a.k.a. Ora 7 Jon
If you’ve watched any Bollywood action films, you’ll be well aware of the antagonism in them between India and Pakistan, with the latter often the villain – whether officially or not. But in the top-right corner of the map, we find Bangladesh, the sovereign nation formerly known as East Pakistan. As that suggests, they also had a bit of a grudge. After the partition of India in 1947, the new nation of Pakistan was split in two parts, separated by a thousand miles. While mostly Islamic like West Pakistan, the Eastern portion felt subjugated and exploited, eventually leading to an eight-month civil war for its independence in 1971, with covert (and eventually overt) help from India.
It’s against that background The 7 takes place, inspired by the experiences of Khan’s uncle during the war. Major Luthfur (Khan) leads a group of seven freedom fighters, on a mission to locate and extract a nurse, Aporna Sen (Momo) tending to the rebels. She has been targeted by the Pakistanis, since her father is an Indian politician, and her capture would be a propaganda coup. Leading the hunt from that side is the brutal Major Shahriar (Rahman), and when he attacks one of the 7’s family, things become deeply personal. However, Shahriar captures the team’s doctor, Saab (Dinar), and gives Luthfur an ultimatum – hand over Aporna, if they want to see their comrade alive again.
Clearly Dhallywood – the term for Bangladesh cinema – doesn’t have as much resources as Bollywood. But that doesn’t necessarily hurt things here, where the aim is a more grounded and realistic approach. People aren’t flying through their air or punching buildings to the ground. However, this does feel very much like a throwback to a simpler era, like the World War II films of the fifties. There’s a stark separation between the goodies and baddies, and plenty of rousing patriotism, expressed in lines like “Let there be nobody in Bangladesh, but they can not take the soil of our country.” There were moments where I was definitely getting Braveheart vibes, the fight for freedom accompanied by stirring music.
It’s all perfectly competent, with almost nothing in the way of surprises. Though there was one moment where Major Luthfur breaks down in tears alone, after rallying his troops. That was an unexpected breach of the otherwise unrelenting square-jawed heroism on display. Things otherwise proceed entirely as expected, towards the inevitable, lengthy fist-fight between the two officers. This ends in what must be the filthiest pond in cinema history. I just hope both actors had their jabs, or I can see amoebic dysentery on their resumes. At 169 minutes, you will need a comfy chair, and a sandwich, though this duration is par for the South Asian course. It’s never dull though, and as someone not particularly familiar with this part of history, I probably learned something too.
This is part of our World in Action feature, covering action movies around the globe.