Kirik Party

Kirik Party is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by Govind Sahai Guptha and Rakshit Shetty, under Paramvah Studios. It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde, Achyuth Kumar, Aravinnd Iyer, Dhananjay Ranjan, Chandan Achar and Pramod Shetty play prominent roles. Rakshit Shetty wrote the story and co-wrote the script with a team called "The Seven Odds", which consisted of Rakshit Shetty, Rishab Shetty, Abhijith Mahesh, Dhananjay Ranjan, Kiranraj K, Chandrajith Belliappa. The film marks the acting debut of Rashmika Mandanna and Samyuktha Hegde.

The film marks the second directorial venture of Rishab Shetty after Ricky (2016). The principal photography commenced on 17 April 2016 at Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan and was completed in September 2016. Karm Chawla and Sachin Ravi handled the cinematography and editing, while the music was composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, which became viral upon its release.

Kirik Party was released worldwide on 30 December 2016 to positive reviews from critics and became one of the highest grossing Kannada films of all time and also had a 365-days run in multiplexes. It won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Family Entertainer, and was nominated in seven categories at the 64th Filmfare Awards South, winning five of them. It also received five awards at the IIFA Utsavam and seven awards at the 6th South Indian International Movie Awards. The film was remade in Telugu as Kirrak Party (2018).

The story begins with Karna, a first-year student at college, meeting Saanvi, a final year student and the daughter of a police officer. Saanvi is well-liked on campus, but she forms a close friendship with Karna. Saanvi is writing a book about a sex worker she knows personally, who ends up giving birth with Saanvi and Karna's help. The baby is named Saanvi, which deeply affects Karna emotionally. Over time, Karna and Saanvi grow closer and go out together. However, a tragic incident occurs when Saanvi falls from a hostel window and dies after drinking alcohol at a party. This event deeply affects Karna, leading him to become stubborn and rude in his final year. Arya, a junior, falls in love with Karna and tries to help him return to his former self. After a series of events and emotional encounters, Karna is able to come to terms with his past and move forward with Arya's support.

Karna, influenced by Arya's words, leaves on a bike journey, deciding to sell his car to fund a sex worker's child's education. During the trip, Karna realizes he is in love with Arya and returns to college. On his final day, Karna writes letters confessing to locking himself in the car and falsely accusing his friends, and expressing his love for Arya. Karna reunites with his friends, but the principal forgives them before reading the letter. At the send-off party, Arya reveals the truth to Karna and asks him to give the letter to the principal, not her. Karna mistakenly switches the letters, leading the principal to discover Karna's love for Arya, who is his daughter. In the end, the principal angrily confronts Karna for his actions. This chain of events showcases Karna's growth as he takes responsibility for his mistakes and faces the consequences, ultimately learning valuable lessons about honesty and love.

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. 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".

"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."

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."