There have been several films and television shows that have employed COVID-19 as a storytelling device (though it’s only been a little over a year). This seems especially true with many festival films this year, including The End of Us at Sundance, I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking) at SXSW, and now there’s the heartwarming 7 Days, a film that captivates with its charm and genuine affection. Directed by Roshan Sethi from a screenplay by him and Karan Soni (who also stars), 7 Days is emotionally resonant, sweet, tender, and genuinely funny.
The film, which is set in March 2020, opens with Ravi (Soni) and Rita’s (Geraldine Viswanathan) parents setting them up for a blind date through an Indian dating app. Ravi, as his mother describes him, is her youngest and most mature son, while Rita is a traditional young woman who doesn’t drink and enjoys cooking (none of which is true). Ravi and Rita are the complete opposite of each other and it’s painfully noticeable as soon as they meet. Ravi is the hopeless romantic who doesn’t really have experience with women, though he has plenty of ideas about what he wants his relationship to look like. Meanwhile, Rita is not fond of marriage and has enough experience with relationships to understand how crushing, consuming, and painful they can be. She and Ravi clash over this and their non-Bollywood meet-cute becomes even less ideal when they’re forced into lockdown together under the same roof.
7 Days contends with picture-perfect ideas about love and marriage through Ravi and Rita’s more jaded, cynical take on romance. Sethi and Soni specifically tackle the traditions Indian families partake in to set up their children for marriage. Making Ravi the idealistic romantic instead of Rita quietly subverts gender norms when it comes to how romcoms have historically portrayed men and women’s ideas about love. That opens the door for certain subjects to surface and which the film handles with the utmost empathy and thoughtfulness. Ravi, for all his saccharine opinions about relationships and tradition, wants to love someone with his whole heart, but can’t seem to find anyone to take the next step with.
What 7 Days has that many modern romcoms lack is genuine affection and connection. Ravi and Rita get to talk through things because they’re stuck in the same place, forced to reckon with their many thoughts on the way they’ve approached relationships up to this point. To that end, the film challenges both its characters’ way of thinking, allowing them to open up about their pain. Despite Ravi’s notions about love, he’s found that finding it the traditional way has its own set of obstacles in the same way that Rita has hers through non-traditional means.
Both characters are incredibly charming and their rapport holds up for the entire film because there is always something new to learn about them. They both struggle with the expectations thrust upon them, be it about finding love or the pressure to live their lives the way their parents planned. Being stuck in lockdown with someone has never been so touching, poignant, and humorous and Viswanathan and Soni give fantastic, memorable, and engaging performances that showcase the growing connection and depth of their characters. Where the film could have used a bit of work is in its COVID-related storyline. The lockdown portion of it could have been enough, but one of the characters contracting the virus is used to create tension and an additional layer of conflict where it wasn’t necessarily needed. It seemed the only way to remove one of the characters from the forced living situation, but it also took away precious screen time that could have further explored their courtship and perspectives.
Despite all that, 7 Days is quite lovely, exploring the dimensions and depths of its characters after they’re placed in an awkward situation that greatly benefits from being so contained. It’s a thoughtful, compassionate romcom that fleshes out its characters and touches upon the plethora of ideas surrounding romance, challenging them to think outside the box and to also take a chance on someone after looking closer.
7 Days had its North American premiere during the 2021 Tribeca Festival on June 10. The film is 87 minutes long and is not yet rated.