K Kiranraj on his feature debut 777 Charlie, working with Rakshit Shetty and more

Rakshit Shetty starrer 777 Charlie is ready for release on 10 June and with that long-awaited dream of debutante director Kiranraj K of watching his first feature film on the big screen will finally be fulfilled and that too on a larger scale as film will have pan-Indian release. “I can’t believe that the day is finally going to come. I have covered a tough road to see this day and I am thankful to all those who have supported and shown faith in me. I still remember how my family initially thought that the film industry is meant for those who have background and money and since we were a simple family, it seemed a distant dream. However, I was focused and confident that I want to be a filmmaker and I think I did it,” he told Firstpost in an interview. While he took five years – from execution to implementation to the final product- to prepare 777 Charlie, Kiranraj’s journey into showbiz was not an easy road. “I had to drop out of school immediately after Class 10 due to a financial crisis at home. So, I worked as a waiter in a bar in Mangaluru, then as a security guard, and then as a salesman. However, my ultimate aim was to get into films, which drove me to move to Bengaluru in 2010. I acted as a junior artiste in an attempt to build contacts and get my first break but nothing seemed to have worked for me. “This was when I had to move back to Kasargod and did short films like Kabina Haalu with financial help from some of my friends. That film won a prize and also gave me the confidence to make more projects. That is when I met director Jayathirtha, and through him, I got an opportunity to work as assistant director for Endendigu and Ricky, where I met Rishab Shetty and Rakshit Shetty. I was in awe of Rakshit’s work in Ulidavaru Kandante,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_10774701” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A still from 777 Charlie[/caption] Kiran says that his struggling days introduced him so much to the surroundings and nature that he wants to make all his projects based on such experiences. Kiranraj previously helmed the ‘Sagara Sangama’ segment in the critically-acclaimed Katha Sangama on Amazon Prime Video. He directed the portions of Hariprriya and Rishab Shetty in the anthology that again had a dog. He seems to have a special connection to dogs. His feature film 777 Charlie too has a Labrador playing a lead role alongside Rakshit Shetty. Kiranraj K adds that when he was writing the script for 777 Charlie, two stories had inspired him a lot. “One was an article about a man who travelled the world with his dog, and another was an incident about a dog following his owner to Shabarimalai on his Yaatra. These were travel-related concepts, just like my story, and as I researched more inspirational content, I found out that the start and end of Mahabharata were due to a dog. You know at the end of Mahabharata when Dharmaraya lost everything and started his journey towards the Himalayas, his dog follows him throughout that journey and that’s why I named my lead man as ‘Dharma’,” he said. After KGF Chapter 2, 777 Charlie is the next pan-India release from the Kannada industry so the pressure would be immense for Kiranraj one might think. To this, he says that more than the pressure he is excited to see the reaction of people. “With Charlie, I want to give India its dog film because so far we only look at the West when we have to watch such story plots. There are some of my real-life incidents too in this film. My family and I are dog lovers too” he said. 777 Charlie starring Rakshit Shetty, Raj B Shetty, Sangeetha Sringeri, Bobby Simha, and Danish Sait amongst others is set to release in five Indian languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Nivedita Sharma’s work experience includes covering fashion weeks in Milan, Pakistan, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Dubai, and award functions like IIFA, and TOIFA.  Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .