Leading ladies of Sandalwood speak about the future of Bengaluru cinema

Bengaluru: The DH Bengaluru 2024 summit concluded with a panel discussion about the emergence of a new Bengaluru cinema. Moderated by DH's associate editor, Ramakrishna S R, Kannada film director Sindhu Sreenivasamurthy, actors Samyukta Hornad and Chaitra Achar were on the panel.

The panel spoke about their love for the city, the culture of the city, the difference in cinema industries of India and the kind of cinema Bengaluru will see by 2040.

Sindhu who recreated Bangalore from the 60s in her debut feature film Aachar and Co. said, "Bengaluru's vibrant architecture of the past has been demolished and new structures have emerged in their places. So I wanted to reimagine the city from the 60s and see what it would be like to live in the 60s," she said also adding , "A simplicity that existed back then is lost now. "

Samyukta Hornad who was a child artiste when she did Aa Dinagalu, a film set in the 80s said, " Art represents society around you. It's very interesting to see films in Kannada, especially women's roles — the representation of the girl next door has changed and evolved."

Chaitra Achar who played Surabhi in Hemanth M Rao's Sapta Sagaradaache Ello said, "Hemanth very artistically and beautifully captured the city from 10 years ago and now. But what stays the same is the emotions. There are slums in Bangalore and there are lower middleclass people and these classes exist and they are our audience. And it's important to represent them in the films. Films like Jogi and Kalasipalya too explored the other side of the city."

Speaking about the kind of cinema, Bengaluru would witness by 2040, Sindhu said, "our population in Bangalore speaks a varied number of languages — Kannada, English, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, and even Nepali. In our films of the future, we will be seeing all these languages."

The session ended with Chaitra Achar singing a Kannada folk song and Samyukta Hornad, an old Kannada hit song, "Baanigondu elle ellide..." from Premada Kanike.