‘777 CHARLIE’ (DUBBED) REVIEW | 10 June, 2022

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Paramvah Studios’ 777 Charlie (dubbed from the Kannada film of the same name; UA) is the story of a recluse whose world changes after a puppy enters his life.

Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) is a loner and works in a factory. He has no friends — neither at his work place nor in the society in which he lives. One day, a puppy is injured, and after he takes her to a veterinarian, he gets saddled with the puppy till it recovers. Soon, the puppy becomes a part of his life. Then, one day, Dharma’s world turns upside down. Why? What happens thereafter?

Kiranraj K. has written a very heartfelt story and screenplay about Dharma and his dog, Charlie. The first half is light and has a number of fun moments. The jokes are crisp and often situational; they bring a smile to the face. The drama takes an emotional turn just a little before the interval. The sensitive viewers will find themselves overcome with emotions and crying/sobbing in the emotional scenes in the pre-interval portion. Light moments reduce in the second half, which is a minus point. Another weak point of the screenplay is that the post-interval part is too lengthy and gives the impression that the writer has strayed. For instance, the chunk of the dog agility competition looks like an add-on and does not add anything to the story because it was never Dharma’s aim in life that his dog should win a competition and do him proud. That entire track can safely be deleted — and should be deleted to good effect. Besides this, other scenes of travelling to the snow-capped region are too lengthy and get a bit boring. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that a fair part of the second half seems to be like a travel film. A shorter travel time would’ve made the screenplay tighter. The climax is again emotional and heartwarming too.

Some scenes deserve separate mention. For instance, the scene in which Charlie ensures that first aid reaches Dharma; the scene in which Dharma rushes Charlie to the vet; the scene in which Dharma sees his world come crashing down in front of him at the vet’s dispensary; the climax scene; the scene in which Charlie ‘says’ ‘thank you’ to her master, Dharma. Sanjay Upadhyay’s dialogues are splendid and touch the heart.

Rakshit Shetty does a fantastic job as Dharma. He lives the character and his aloofness is so endearing that it actually helps him win the hearts of the viewers. Charlie deserves the highest praise for her performance. She is absolutely outstanding and extremely lovable. Sangeetha Sringeri does a very natural job as Devika. Raj B. Shetty lends terrific support as the veterinarian. Baby Sharvari is fantastic as Dharma’s neighbour, Adrika. Abhijit Mahesh leaves a mark as the vet’s assistant. Danish Sait lends good support. Bobby Simha (as Vamshi, owner of the black dog) makes his presence felt. Gopal Krishna Deshpande (as Dharma’s colleague, Krupakar), Salman Ahamed (as rent collector Manju), Dhanraj S. (in the role of the motorcycle guy, Vicky) provide wonderful support. Others are adequate.

Kiranraj K.’s direction is sensitive. He has narrated the story in a manner that it will appeal to animal lovers as also those who don’t have pets. Nobin Paul’s music is appealing. The Rajasthani song is extremely good. Other songs are also melodious. Lyrics (Mansa Pandey, Kartika Nainan Dubey, Shiny Das and Alexis D’Souza) are quite nice. Nobin Paul’s background music is effective. Arvind S. Kashyap’s cinematography is first-rate. Ullas Hydoor’s production designing is appropriate. Vikram Mor’s action and stunt scenes are thrilling. Pratheek Shetty’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is very good.

On the whole, 777 Charlie is a well-made film with fantastic performances by the cast members. But at the Hindi box-office, it will go largely unnoticed. It will win a lot of critical acclaim. Its (Hindi dubbed version’s) box-office performance will not at all match its merits because the awareness about the release and even existence of the film is very poor.

Released on 9-6-’22 at Cinepolis Andheri (2 shows) and other cinemas and on 10-6-’22 at Inox (daily 1 show) and more cinemas of Bombay thru UFO Cine Media Network. Publicity: dull. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere. The original Kannada version will, of course, do far better than the dubbed Hindi version.