777 Charlie is packed with all tropes of a light-hearted dog movie, including a tear-jerker climax. The first half is certainly more engaging as we wonder how an emotionless loner taps into his inner self and connects with a stray Labrador pup (the adorable Charlie), making him a more expressive-but-composed human being. These bits are also laced with situational humor and a sparkling Raj B Shetty extended cameo - a complete 180 from his vicious turn in Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana. While the bond between Charlie and Dharma is charming and full of warmth, it also moves into predictable territory in the second half. The dog competition parts did not feel essential to the plot whatsoever, and watered down the emotional core to some extent.

The foreseeable finale is also stretched beyond all measure, especially since you've been readily waiting with a box of tissues for a good while. The writing in 777 Charlie also comes from a hardcore pet lover's perspective, and therefore, while the emotions hit sufficiently hard, there's only so many times you can go aww whenever Charlie spontaneously hugs Dharma. I did relish the texture attributed to Dharma (it's shown that he lost his family while he was still a child) and therefore, the journey he takes in the second half with Charlie makes sense as he never got to do something like that (with a loved one) before.