‘777 Charlie’ movie review: A heartfelt take on a charming friendship

Can a canine change your life?

The makers of current movie 777 Charlie actually suppose so. And their newest work is a deeply heartfelt cinematic presentation of that truth.

Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) is a loner who feels that what he does is at all times right. “How others view me is not proper,” he says, in a voiceover early within the movie. You possibly can’t discover fault with the others; in any case, he not often bothers concerning the colony he lives in or his neighbours and is generally grumpy and unkempt. His home is at all times in a large number, with cigarette butts and liquor bottles strewn round. On the manufacturing facility he works in, he is without doubt one of the finest staff — he would not take a single day of go away — and prefers to maintain to himself, thus incomes the ire of most of his colleagues.

Merely put, he is a loner with none mates, household or bonds.

Till a Labrador pup, which he later names Charlie because of his love for Charlie Chaplin, comes into his life. After which, life, for Dharma, turns into topsy turvy.

That is predominantly a man-animal relationship movie, however it is usually a journey movie and a musical. When director Kiranraj is not exhibiting you pictureseque locales (cinematography by Arvind S Kashyap) throughout Dharma’s life-changing highway journey, he is making you invested within the story thanks additionally to its music (by Nobin Paul), with fantastic little songs peppered within the screenplay, just like the occasional barks that Charlie lets out.

This author watched the dubbed Tamil model of the movie (which is a primarily a Kannada movie, with many well-known faces from the Kannada movie trade), however the makers appear to have ensured that it feels very unique. The signal boards are all from Chennai — the colony the protagonist lives in is in Ambattur — and the actors do a commendable job with the lip sync.

A nonetheless from ‘777 Charlie’
| Picture Credit score: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Languages aren’t a barrier on this movie, as the topic is all coronary heart. In a line, the movie might nicely be described because the “relationship between a person and a canine” however director Kiranraj ensures that he packs in emotion and light-heartedness in equal measure that we’re engaged on a regular basis. English movie The Canine Drawback (2006) tried one thing on related traces, however 777 Charlie scores a lot greater on the emotional quotient.

If the primary half focusses on the build-up to the connection, the second half has a number of heartfelt moments that hit you onerous. There is a splendidly written and conceived sequence right here set within the backdrop of a canine present that is the equal of a final ball six in a cricket match – director Kiranraj scores excessive, tugging on the heartstrings.

That he has an apt forged bringing to life his thought is a giant bonus. Rakshit Shetty is ideal because the protagonist and will get in all the proper expressions, be it when he is pissed off because of an intrusion in life, and later, when his outlook in direction of life adjustments. Charlie, the topic the movie revolves round, is a delight to look at on the massive display. A small woman named Adrika (performed by Sharvari) will get a neatly-written position. Even the characters that get lesser display time — be it Raj B Shetty because the vet, Sangeetha Sringeri as a champion of animal rights, Bobby Simha as a dog-lover and Danish Sait as a reporter — make an impression on the on-screen proceedings.

The one grouse was the tad lengthy runtime (filled with far too many songs) and the movie’s humour, which fortunately is not rather a lot. For a cinematic work that celebrates animals, inserting “canine jokes” (Pattern: a mom tells her daughter: “unakku nai venuma? Veetuku va, appa irukanga) stands out. Barring that, there’s rather a lot to like about this movie.

When you’re a canine lover, watch 777 Charlie. When you’re not a canine lover, watch 777 Charlie.