A crotchety young man Dharma (Rakshit Shetty) - who lives alone in a house watching videos, eating idlis and drinking beer - works in a factory as a welder. His co-workers hate him because he won’t socialise, his neighbours are wary of him and the kids have been told, ‘Eat or else "Hitler" Mama will beat you.’ But a puppy spots something special about Dharma, and she adopts him. Dharma just doesn’t know it yet.
In the first 20 minutes of the film, this clever puppy gives us plenty of reasons to love her. She survives traffic, hunger, harsh summer and at least 20 people who throw things at her just to shoo her away. And she’s determined to take Dharma under her wing. Wait, what?
The puppy’s antics are so much fun because they’re happening to Dharma who doesn’t know the first thing about raising a puppy. If you’ve been owned by a dog, you know that it’s like having a baby in the house. Sleepless nights, feeding, burping and potty training will test most families, and Dharma is a single parent. So much fun to watch him muddle his way through. But his instincts are just right and he soon realises that the puppy will listen to threats: Stop jumping in front of the TV, I’m going to switch it off!
I didn’t realise I was going ‘awww!’ under my mask especially when a family adopts the puppy. Did I not recently write about how not likeable the Marathi show Pet Puraan was? Do I not laugh at friends who have special social media accounts for their pets? Then why was I getting mad at the Animal Welfare officer who was jumping to the wrong conclusions about Dharma and the yet to be named puppy! Must mention the actor Raj B. Shetty who plays the vet. Great comic timing!
By the time Dharma has named his puppy Charlie, we are totally involved in their lives. And thrilled at the effect Charlie has on the chap who was happy to survive on idlis and beer. Rakshit Shetty who plays Dharma is so good that you wonder if the dog is really his. I don’t care how the director managed it, but it was so natural to see the puppy grow up as the character arc of the hero develops. That’s film school speak for how a character in a film changes with time. And you sigh deeply into the dark brew that you don’t remember ordering.
People around you will talk about a Hollywood rom-com called Marley & Me but I’m listening in, hoping that this film will not make the animal welfare officer fall in love with the hero.
Sangeetha Sringeri plays Devika, the Animal Welfare Officer well, determined to save the puppy from the awful man the neighbours say Dharma is. Thankfully she has puppies to save and she does not sing romantic songs with Dharma on the road trip.
There’s a road trip?! Indeed. Not just an ordinary road trip. It’s a roller coaster ride for your emotions as well. Laughing and crying and laughing again, I was watching this road trip, realising that there are good people out there in the world. I also realised that this road trip with that puppy on the screen was not just humanising Dharma, this puppy was turning me into a mush puddle as well.
The Hollywood movie titled A Dog’s Purpose was shot with a similar intent: show the boy growing up with the puppy and the puppy’s love is so deep, he chooses to be the boy’s pup again and again… The K-drama Tomorrow also has a gut-wrenching episode of a puppy named Kim Kong who runs away from home because it is unwell and will not let the lad see him suffer. I watched in fear as Bobby Simha showed up on their road trip, offering shelter to Dharma and Charlie. I was afraid that he would turn out to be a villain (all that swagger!) but my heart burst with gratitude because I too have been offered kindness by strangers and his story touched my heart.
The road trip is long, and yet believable. Even the dog show event that takes up what feels like an age! The dog show segment elicited a lot of oohs and aahs, but I was worried for Charlie, when would she get to see snow? Plus the filmmakers missed an opportunity to get Dharma prize money from the show for the trip ahead. As the dog-crazy lady sitting next to me said, ‘No logic about prize money when there’s doggo love.’
I agreed, because I was pulled in by the band of travelling musicians singing about life. And I fell in love with the Konkani song ‘O’ga!’ that we hear (it’s a road trip movie, remember? And yes, no girl-hates-boy-then-falls-in-love-with-him love song. This needs to be said because you, the audience, need to stay focused on Charlie’s love… And you will drown in it. And tears.
Gosh! I don’t remember the last time a movie about love actually made me cry and laugh and cry over and over again. Watch this film because you have memories of a pet. Watch this movie because you’ve been saying ‘no’ to your kids who want a pet but don’t know how to take care of it. Watch this film because you live in an apartment which is too small… Watch it because all these reasons don’t matter, love can occupy the biggest space of them all: your heart.
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