Kirik Party

Kirik Party is a 2016 Indian Kannada Language campus romantic comedy film directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by G. S. Guptha and Rakshit Shetty.[5] It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde,[6] Aravinnd Iyer, Dhananjay Ranjan and Pramod Shetty in prominent roles. Rakshit wrote the story of the film and also co-wrote the script along with a team "The Seven odds" apart from playing a protagonist.

Kirik Party
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Rishab Shetty
Produced by	G. S. Guptha Rakshit Shetty Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah
Written by	The Seven Odds: Rakshit Shetty Rishab Shetty Abhijith Mahesh Dhananjay Ranjan Kiranraj K Chandrajith Belliappa [1]
Screenplay by	Rishab Shetty
Story by	Rakshit Shetty
Starring	Rakshit Shetty Rashmika Mandanna Samyuktha Hegde Achyuth Kumar
Music by	B. Ajaneesh Loknath
Cinematography	Karm Chawla
Edited by	Sachin Ravi
Production company	Paramvah Studios Pushkar Films
Distributed by	Jayanna Films
Release date	29 December 2016 (2016-12-29) (Premier Show) 30 December 2016 (2016-12-30) (India)
Running time	165 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada
Budget	₹4 crore[2]
Box office	₹50 crore[3][4]

This film marks the second directorial venture of Rishab Shetty after Ricky. The Principal photography commenced on 21 April 2016 at Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan.[7]

The film became one of the highest grossing Kannada film all time and celebrated 250-days,[8] in over 15 theatres and also completed 365-days in multiplexes.[3] The film was remade in Telugu as Kirrak Party.[9][10]

Kirik Party is the story of a gang of mischievous students, led by the protagonist Karna (Rakshit Shetty), who has just joined an engineering college. They belong to different streams of engineering but develop a bond while staying together in the hostel. The treatment is stylish with light humour while exploring the college life of these youngsters. Karna, the protagonist from a small town has joined this engineering college as a mechanical engineering student and he gangs up with his hostel mates Loki, Alexander, Manja and others to cause a lot of mischief in the college. During the first year he befriends Saanvi (Rashmika Mandanna) a Final year student and certain incidents impact Karna's life making him question his very basic thought process.

The second half starts with the fun-loving girl Arya (Samyuktha Hegde), who is a student of first year Electrical engineering in the same college and falls in love with final year Mechanical engineering student Karna (Rakshith Shetty) at the end both start to love each other.

The progression of Karna and the gang from being a bunch of mischief makers to responsible adults is the theme of Kirik Party. It is a fun-filled film with lots of melodious songs.

Plot

The story starts with a song introducing the characters of the film. Karna a first-year student meets Saanvi final year student and daughter of a police officer. Everyone in the campus likes Saanvi and even Karna's friend. But Saanvi gets close to Karna and they both become good friends. Saanvi is a writer of a book about sex worker's life and she knows the sex worker personally. The sex worker is pregnant and one day she gets labour pain. Saanvi along with Karna takes her to the hospital. The sex worker bears a baby girl and keeps the baby's name as Saanvi. Karna holds the baby and gets emotional. Saanvi always saw Karna as a fun, loving and cheerful guy. Seeing Karna as innocent and emotional Saanvi suggests Karna to discover his second half.

They become close friends and start to go out together. In the girl's hostel, girls were celebrating the final year students send-off party meanwhile even the boys enter the hostel and everyone starts to sing and dance. The boys leave the hostel, Saanvi and her friends decide to drink whereas Saanvi refuses to do so but due to her friends she sips a bit of vodka. While dancing Saanvi falls from the hostel rooms window and dies. Karna gets upset. Everyone starts to speak about Saanvi in the wrong way even Saanvi's father gets angry about Saanvi getting drunk. Seeing all this Karna gets angry and starts to beat his senior.

After three years Karna is in his final year, he becomes stubborn and rude. He is in the final year and Arya his junior doing her first year in electrical stream falls in love with Karna. Karna and his friends get apart due to fight and he forms another group.

Karna stands for the college election and also wins the election and becomes president of the college. Arya wants to change Karna. She wants to make Karna as he was in the first year of college. Arya and Karna go for a long drive where Karna and Arya do some mischievous things which brings smile on Karna's face. Arya takes Karna to Saanvi's house unknowingly. Karna sees Saanvi's parents and her photos in the house and gets emotional. Saanvi father apologizes for not trusting his daughter and thanks Karna for the diary which he gave after Saanvi's death. Saanvi's dad gives the diary to Karna and asks him to read it. Karna leaves the house and on his way he goes to the sex worker's house whom he and Saanvi had helped during her labour pain. Karna sees the sex workers child and gets emotional as her name is also Saanvi. Karna leaves the house and meets Arya, she tells him that he is lost in his past and asks him to come to the reality and leaves from there giving an emoji badge to him.

Karna gets stuck in Arya's words and leaves on bike to another place. Karna decides to sell the car which he and his friends bought in the first year and give the money for the sex worker's child's education. In his trip Karna learns that he is in love with Arya. He goes back to college. It was his final day in college. Karna writes two letters one to Arya and another one to Principal stating that he and his friends locked him in the car and blamed his other friends. In Arya's letter he writes that he loves her and wants to be with her. Karna and his friends get back together forming the same bond as first year. Principal forgives Karna and his friends without reading the letter. In the send off party Arya comes with the letter and tells Karna that he is really good human being and he accepted his mistake and asks him to give the letter to the Principal not to her. Everyone gets shocked and Karna realizes that he swapped the letter. Principal reads the letter and gets to know that Karna loves Arya, his daughter. In the end principal shouts at Karna.

Cast

The cast of the film:

• Rakshit Shetty as Karna, a student who is studying Mechanical Engineering
• Rashmika Mandanna as Saanvi Joseph, who is a decent and disciplined girl, love interest of Karna, daughter of a strict police officer
• Samyuktha Hegde as Aarya, daughter of Dr. Thotadarya, an extrovert girl, who loves Karna
• Achyuth Kumar as Ghouse, a Car mechanic
• Aravinnd Iyer as Lokesh Kumar
• Dhananjay Ranjan as Manjunath M.
• Ashwin Rao Pallaki as Ravi
• Shankar Murthy as Sankoch Murthy
• Chandan Achar as Alexander Gabriel
• Pramod Shetty as Jnanesh
• Rajath Kumar as Rajath
• Manjunath Gowda
• Giri Krishna
• Raghu Ramanakoppa
• Hanumanthegowda as Dr. Thontadarya, Principal (academia) Malnad Engineering College
• K. S. Sridhar
• Raghu Pandeshwar as Watchman Narayana
• Dinesh Mangalore
• Salman Ahamed as Poovaiah[11]
• Sriharsha Mayya
• Raghavendra N.
• Aishwarya Acchappa
• Surabhi
• Neetha Muralidhar Rao
• Arohitha Gowda

• Paramesh as Ranna

Production

Development

In February 2016, during the promotions of Ricky in Udupi, Rakshit Shetty announced that his next film would be Kirik Party and that Rishab Shetty, the director of the former, would again direct the film. He added that most of Ricky's crew would feature in the film except for Hariprriya, as the film demanded a "fresh female lead". He said that the film would be made in a budget of ₹4 crore.[12] In an interview with The Times of India in December 2016, he said that he wrote the story about six years ago and was inspired from his "college experiences". He added, "Karna [his character in the film] is what I was like in college. He is actually a combination of mine and my best friends' characteristics. I was a naughty guy back then and have changed a lot since; I became serious after moving to Bengaluru".[13]

Casting and filming

"I got a call from the associate director asking me to audition for a Rakshit Shetty film, but I thought it was a prank! But he called me again after a few days and this time, I believed him. My p.u board exams were going on, but despite that, I went to Jayanagar for an audition. The door opened, and I was shocked to see Rakshit right in front of me. They explained the plot to me and I liked it. After I auditioned, they gave me the cheque and said ‘welcome to Kirik Party."

—Samyuktha Hegde, on landing the role in the film.[14]

Rashmika Mandanna told Indiatimes about her entry to cinema industry "The makers of Kirik Party saw a picture of mine from the Clean & Clear Fresh Face of India 2014 competition — one in which I was dancing during the college round — and approached me to act in the film. So, it really got things going. I always wanted to be in films. I would watch actors receiving awards and thanking their parents in their acceptance speeches — that is something that I always wanted to do. But I honestly didn't think that I would bag such a big movie. I would just say that I'm lucky." [15]

Auditions were held in March 2016 for the two female leads and supporting roles in the film, in Bangalore.[16] The makers auditioned over 400 girls and went through 2,000 profiles for the two lead roles.[17] Rashmika Mandanna, then, a model and a student pursuing her graduation, was signed to play the first female lead in the film. She was selected after the makers "liked" the pictures from her win at the Clean & Clear Fresh Face of India 2014 competition.[15][18] The second role went to Samyukta Hegde, then a 17-year-old, also pursuing her graduation.[14] Post auditions for the supporting roles to play sidekicks to Rakshit Shetty's character in the film, seven short film makers, writers, dialogue writers and technicians — Aravind Iyer, Ashwin Rao Pallakki, Shankar Murthy, Dhananjay Ranjan, Chandan, Rajath Kumar and Giri Krishna — were signed. Pramod Shetty, who had previously worked with Rakshit, was also signed.[19]

Filming began on 17 April 2016 with a muhurat shot in Bangalore.[20] It completed in September, with the final leg of the schedule filming a "journey song" for which the makers traveled to 15 places in four states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa spanning 2,400 kilometers.[21] A yellow Hindustan Contessa bearing the 3636 on the number plate was used in the film. Rishab Shetty conceived a mute character in the film and the car was used in the place after certain modifications. Elaborating on the role it plays in the film, he said, "It is not about just buying the car, but how they fall in love also makes this vehicle an important part of the film. The car even has a name, Kirik car." The makers spent over a month on finalizing on the "perfect car" before narrowing down on the Contessa "for its long looks".[22] It was also used during the film's promotions following which it was auctioned to contribute for a "social cause".[23]

Marketing

The trailer of the film was released by Kannada actor Upendra at Renukamba Preview Theater in Malleshwaram on 27 October 2016.[24] In YouTube it garnered more than 3 lakh views within 48 hours of its launch, breaking the previous record for a Kannada film trailers. As of February 2017 it has crossed 2 million views on YouTube.[25]

The official app of Kirik Party was released on 20 December 2016 for Android.

Soundtrack

Main article: Kirik Party (soundtrack)

Release and reception

Kirik Party was given a "U" certificate by the regional Censor Board.[26] It released theatrically on 30 December 2016 across Karnataka. The subsequent days saw releases in Karnataka's neighbouring States of Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. However, this movie did not release in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Over the following month, it was released and saw strong opening in United States, Singapore, Dubai, Japan, Israel and parts of Europe.[27] The strong opening at the domestic box-office was significant in that the film faced stiff competition from the hitherto already successful run of Hindi film Dangal.[28]

Critical response

The film opened to positive reviews from critics upon theatrical release. Writing for The Hindu, Archana Nathan called the film a "party down memory lane", further adding that "[t]here is an underlying theme of self-discovery that runs through the film" and also noting that "Ajaneesh Lokanath’s sound track plays a huge role in this narrative experience."[29] Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India rated the film 4 out of 5, saying "Go ahead, watch this film and relive nostalgia from your college days." She further said that the film "scores high on technical values".[30] Shashi Prasad of The Deccan Chronicle too rated 4/5 stars and wrote, "Both Rakshit and Rishab Shetty seem to have held onto the pulse of the new set of audience." He added, "If possible, take your college friends to watch this one for maximum fun and love."[31] Noted critic Baradwaj Rangan writing on his blog said, "The must-haves of our cinema are all there. Romance. Comedy. Songs. Fights. But the director, Rishab Shetty, is stupendously inventive, and these generic elements acquire startlingly specific colours." He added "Forget La La Land. This is the most inventive musical of 2016." [32]

Shyam Prasad of Bangalore Mirror rated 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Director Rishab Shetty manages to derive lively and realistic performances from all actors. There is attention to detail but without forcing anything."[33] A. Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express wrote that the film "portrays the happiness of youngsters’s life like never before in Kannada cinema" and added that it "touches the rainbow of experiences with sensibility, and does not waste much time, which is essentially the plus point of the film." She concluded by commending the performances of all the actors, alongside praising the film's music and camerawork.[34] S. Viswanath of Deccan Herald called the film "a cacophonous campus tale spotlighting on the less appreciable aspects of students’ life." He wrote, "What is infuriating is that Rishab Shetty believes bunking classes, copying in exams, throwing tantrums at teachers and principal, whistling and wolfing at campus girls, invading hostels and downing pegs are meatier than the realistic depiction of what constitutes a student’s life" and added that "What actually ensures that one does not give up on Kirik Party is the brilliant acting of Rashmika Mandanna and Samyuktha Hegde."[35]

Box office

See also: List of highest-grossing Indian films

The film collected ₹6 crore (US$840,000) on its opening weekend which is recorded as one of the biggest openings in Kannada cinema.[36] It also opened strongly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.[37] The distributors revealed in January 2017 of having collected a share of close to ₹7 crore (US$980,000) and a gross of ₹10 crore (US$1.4 million) at the end of one week after release.[38] The New Indian Express reported that the film had "apparently made a business of [₹]25 crore" after 25 days.[39] By the end of 75 days, it collected ₹35 crore (US$4.9 million) and still was being screened in over 100 cinemas.[2]

The film went on to become third highest grossing ever film in Kannada film industry after Mungaru Male and Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari grossing over ₹50 crore.[3]

Overseas

The film released on in United Arab Emirates 6 January in over 20 screens and collected ₹38 lakh (US$53,000) in three days, over the weekend. The overall gross had reached ₹18 crore (US$2.5 million) by then.[40] The film has performed strongly in the United States upon release on 1 February in over 60 screens after Jolly Hits acquired the distribution rights for overseas release. It collected US$233,507 at the US box office in the first weekend and was reported by the trade analyst Taran Adarsh: "Kannada film #KirikParty is TERRIFIC in USA... Wed + Thu $54,555, Fri $47,480, Sat $92,606. Total: $194,641 [₹ 1.31 cr]". With this, it broke the RangiTaranga's lifetime collections in the country in over just one weekend.[41]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations IIFA Utsavam 5 13 South Indian International Movie Awards 7 13 Karnataka State Film Awards 1 1 Filmfare Awards South 5 7 Suvarna Film Awards N/A N/A
Totals
Awards won	18
Nominations	34

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref(s)
IIFA Utsavam	28–29 March 2017	Best Film	G. S. Guptha Rakshit Shetty	Won	[42][43]
		Best Direction	Rishab Shetty	Nominated
		Best Performance in a Leading Role — Male	Rakshit Shetty	Won
		Best Performance in a Leading Role — Female	Rashmika Mandanna	Nominated
		Best Performance In A Supporting Role — Male	Chandan Achar	Nominated
		Best Performance In A Supporting Role — Female	Aishwarya Acchappa	Nominated
		Performance In A Comic Role	Pramod Shetty	Nominated
		Performance In A Negative Role	Aravinnd Iyer	Nominated
		Best Music Direction	B. Ajaneesh Loknath	Won
		Best Lyrics	Rakshit Shetty	Won
		Best Playback Singer — Male	Vijay Prakash (for song "Belageddu")	Won
		Best Playback Singer — Female	Inchara Rao (for song"Ayomaya")	Nominated
Best Story	Rakshit Shetty	Nominated
Karnataka State Film Awards	24 April 2017	Best Family Entertainer	Rakshit Shetty G. S. Guptha Rishab Shetty	Won	[44]
Filmfare Awards South	17 June 2017	Best Director	Rishab Shetty	Won	[45]
		Best Actor — Critics	Rakshit Shetty	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Samyuktha Hegde	Won
		Best Music Director	B. Ajaneesh Loknath	Won
		Best Lyricist	Rakshit Shetty (for song "Katheyondu Helide")	Nominated
		Best Male Playback Singer	Vijay Prakash (for song "Belageddu")	Won
		Best Female Playback Singer	Shreya Ghoshal (for song "Neenire Saniha")	Nominated
South Indian International Movie Awards	1 July 2017	Best Film	Paramvah Studios	Won	[46]
		Best Director	Rishab Shetty	Won
		Best Actor	Rakshit Shetty	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Chandan Achar	Won
		Best Actor in a Negative role	Arvind Iyer	Nominated
		Best Comedian	Pramod Shetty	Nominated
		Best Debut Actress	Rashmika Mandanna	Won
		Best Debut Actress	Samyuktha Hegde	Nominated
		Best Music Director	B. Ajaneesh Loknath	Won
		Best Lyricist	Dhananjay Rajan	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer	Vijay Prakash	Nominated
		Best Female Playback Singer	Shreya Ghoshal	Nominated
		Entertainer of the Year	Rakshit Shetty	Won

References

1. "Rakshit Shetty's blockbuster Kirik Party set for its first TV premiere on Colors Kannada". International Business Times. 19 August 2017.
2. Prabhu, Ganesh (4 February 2016). "The budget of 'Kirik Party' would be around ₹4crore". The Hindu.
3. "Rakshit Shetty's Kirik Party dubbed by malayalam movie premam and Telugu remake rights sold; talks on for other language rights". International Business Times. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
4. "The campus-based film has reportedly collected ₹1100 crore at the box office". indianexpress.com.
5. Nathan, Archana (9 June 2016). "The reluctant multitasker". The Hindu.
6. "Such a Kirik Party!". 29 June 2016.
7. "Rakshit Shetty's Kirik Party flags off next week". The Times of India.
8. "Kirik Party 100 day's celebration in Hassan". timesofindia.
9. "Nikhil's 'Kirrak Party' nears completion". The Times of India.
10. "Nikhil's Kirrak Party First Look Poster Talk". The Hans India. 2 December 2017.
11. "Kirik Party villain is a Most Wanted man!". The Times of India. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
12. Prabhu, Ganesh (4 February 2016). "Rakshith Shetty's 'Kirik Party' to go on the floors in March". The Hindu.
13. Desai, Dhwani (28 December 2016). "Here's what Rakshit Shetty has to say about Kirik Party". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
14. "Such a Kirik Party!". Deccan Chronicle. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
15. "Meet Saanvi, the hottie from Kirik Party".
16. "RISHAB PLANS FOR KIRIK PARTY". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
17. Daithotal, Madhu (8 April 2016). "Two new women in Rakshit Shetty's life". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
18. S. M., Shashiprasad (19 April 2016). "A reel Virajpet beauty". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
19. A. Sharadhaa (26 November 2016). "Sidekicks of kirik party". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
20. "ರಕ್ಷಿತ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿಯ ಕಿರಿಕ್ ಪಾರ್ಟಿಗೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತ" [Rakshit Shetty's Kirik Party begins] (in Kannada). 17 April 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
21. "'ಕಿರಿಕ್ ಪಾರ್ಟಿ'ಗಾಗಿ 2400 ಕಿಲೋ ಮೀಟರ್ ರಸ್ತೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಬೆಳೆಸಿದ ರಕ್ಷಿತ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ" [A 2,400-km-long journey for Rakshit Shetty's Kirik Party] (in Kannada). 20 September 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
22. A. Sharadhaa (6 December 2016). "Classic car joins kirik party fun". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
23. "Kirik Party car to be auctioned for social cause". The Times of India. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
24. "Upendra Releases The Trailer Of Kirik Party". chitraloka.com.
25. "Rakshit Shetty is Back With 'Kirik Party' Trailer to Relive Your Engineering College Life! - FilmyPundit". 27 October 2016.
26. "KIRIK PARTY GETS U; TO RELEASE ON DECEMBER 30TH". chitraloka.com. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
27. "It is success party, Kirik Party sets record". IndiaGlitz. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
28. Jha, Shefali S. (5 January 2017). "5 Insanely amazing things that happened post Kirik Party's release". Asianet. newsable.asianetnews.tv. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
29. Nathan, Archana (30 December 2016). "A party down memory lane". The Hindu. Archana Nathan. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
30. "Kirik Party Movie Review". The Times of India. Sunayana Suresh. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
31. "Kirik Party movie review: Watch with your college friends for maximum fun". The Deccan Chronicle. Shashi Prasad. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
32. "Movie Review: Kirik Party". Baradwaj Rangan. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
33. "Movie Review: Kirik Party". Bangalore Mirror. Shyam Prasad. S. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
34. A. Sharadhaa. "Youngsters Live The Kirik Life Here". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
35. S. Vishwanath (2 January 2017). "The highs and lows of campus life". Deccan herald. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
36. "Kirik Party Collects 6 Crores In Three Days". Chitraloka. 2 January 2017.
37. "KIRIK PARTY RELEASED IN CHENNAI AND KOCHI". chitraloka.com. 7 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
38. Prasad S., Shyam (24 January 2017). "This Kannada film's in the 10 crore club". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
39. "Kirik party earns Rs 25 crore in 25 days". The New Indian Express. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
40. "Kirik party makes Rs 38 L in UAE in three days". The New Indian Express. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
41. Hooli, Shekhar H. (7 February 2017). "Kirik Party box office collection: Rakshit Shetty's film beats Rangitaranga to become highest grossing Kannada movie in US". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
42. "'Janatha Garage', 'Kirik Party' bag top honours at IIFA Utsavam 2017". Business Standard India. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
43. "IIFA Utsavam 2017 (2016) Kannada Full Show, Nominees & Winners". Updatebro.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
44. "Karnataka State Film Award Winners for 2016". The Times of India.
45. "64th Filmfare Awards 2017 South: Kirik Party is the big winner of the night". The Times of India.
46. "SIIMA 2017 Kannada winners list — idlebrain.com news". Idlebrain.

External links

• Kirik Party on IMDb
• Kirik Party Official App on Google Play