Bengaluru will always reflect in the films I make: Sindhu Murthy

Time of India

3 days ago

For actor and filmmaker Sindhu Murthy, Bengaluru is more than her home; it's the foundation of her creative vision. 'The city has shaped my values & sensibilities; it reflects in the way I make films,' she says.
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'
Aachar and Co.
is my love letter to old Bengaluru'
'When I first began working on Aachar and Co., I created a group just to collect photographs of Bengaluru from the 1960s and '70s,' Sindhu recalls. 'Friends, family, even distant relatives shared old pictures. My mother told me how land once cost just ` 20,000.'From pastel-shaded homes to the colonial influence on language, every detail in the film was a nod to the city's past. 'These tiny elements helped bring Aachar and Co.
to life,' she says.
One of my fondest memories while growing up in Bengaluru was ordering American Chopsuey at a restaurant that had just introduced it, and it felt so hip back then. Life was simple, the weather was perfect, and people genuinely cared about the city
- Sindhu Murthy
'The Bengaluru I grew up in was simple and beautiful'
'I grew up in BTM Layout, which was practically forestland at the time,' Sindhu says. 'In the '90s, there were only a handful of houses, and we could see the lake from our home. Our outings were mostly to relatives' homes around Gandhi Bazar and Jayanagar. I didn't see Brigade Road or MG Road until high school. Life was simple, the weather was perfect, and people genuinely cared about the city.'
'Bengalureans are not aggressive, we are ambitious'
'The Bengaluru way of life is an ideology,' Sindhu reflects.
'We're ambitious, but not aggressive. We love our art, music, and culture. We're logical and warm, and we adapt while preserving the city's classic charm,' she says.
It gives me joy when old landmarks find new life, like the Opera House is now a corporate space, and an old school on Kamraj Road turned into a performance centre. These are the little things that make Bengaluru unique
- Sindhu Murthy
'The lack of civic sense in Bengaluru is disheartening'
The one thing that concerns Sindhu about Bengaluru is how people don't seem to care for the city. 'People dump garbage on street corners at night. We need better governance and infrastructure. Trees are a highlight of this city, but we keep cutting them down to widen roads. Can't we think of better ways to grow without destroying what makes Bengaluru special?' she asks.