In Ilaiyaraja’s melody ‘Naguva nayana’ from Mani Ratnam’s debut Pallavi Anu Pallavi, we see visuals of the iconic landmarks of Bengaluru (then Bangalore). The lead pair in the 1983 Kannada film, essayed by Anil Kapoor and Kiran Vairale, stroll on the MG Road and spend their evening in Cubbon Park. Incidentally, Balu Mahendra, the cinematographer of Pallavi Anu Pallavi, had made his directorial debut with Kokila (1977), a film set in Bengaluru. The legendary filmmaker had a special love for the city, with several of his films having scenes showcasing a large boulder inside Cubbon Park.For decades together, films have given the city an identity of a recreational hub for outsiders. Bengaluru’s iconic places have inspired filmmakers to imagine stories and songs set in and around them.The aura of Vidhana SoudhaIn the early 1990s, the Vidhana Soudha — an architectural marvel that houses the state’s secretariat and legislature — was a favourite destination for Bollywood songs. In Coolie No.1 (1995), the song ‘Main toh raste se ja raha tha’ has Govinda and Karisma Kapoor dancing on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha. In Vijaypath (1994), Tabu and Ajay Devgn shake a leg in front of the stunning building. Even in a much more serious story like Utsav Gonwar’s indie Kannada movie Photo— which talks about the migrant exodus during the pandemic — a 10-year-old from Raichur goes to Bengaluru to click a photo in front of the Vidhana Soudha.Even Anjali Menon’s hit Bangalore Days (2014) showcases Bengaluru as an exotic destination. The film, powered by an ensemble cast (Fahadh Faasil, Dulquer Salmaan, Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly, and Parvathi Thiruvothu), continues to resonate with the city’s burgeoning population of Malayalis, who move to Bengaluru for employment opportunities and discover a home away from home.
A still from ‘Bangalore Days’.
The glamour and the underbellyHowever, a local, middle-class Bengalurean watching the film today might find Bangalore Days not so relatable, for he or she grew up in a different cultural ethnicity. In that sense, Roopa Rao’s Gantumoote (2019) is a beautiful ode to the good old, laidback charm of the Bengaluru of the 90s. The coming-of-age story of a high-school teenager is a nostalgic trip to the city’s quiet gems, such as the City Central Library and the BMTC bus stops that doubled up as meet-up spots for lovers.ALSO READ:Malayalam cinema’s tryst with BangaloreApart from Gantumoote, another film which had Bengaluru as an important character in its story was Pawan Kumar’s U Turn (2016). Based on an incident that takes place on the Double Road flyover, the film addressed the perils of taking illegal U-turns to avoid one of the city’s biggest problems: traffic.Some evergreen songs address the rapid growth of Bengaluru, but it’s surprising how the city’s evolution hasn’t interested Kannada filmmakers to make relevant social dramas. In Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar’s classic America America (1997), the song ‘Hegide nam desha’ takes a dig at the city’s traffic menace and compares the BDA site rates to something higher than the Empire State Building in the US.
A still from ‘Gantumoote’
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The legendary S Siddalingaiah looked at Bengaluru from the point of view of a rural Kannadiga migrant. In Mayor Muthanna (1969), an honest villager (Dr. Rajkumar) moves to the city, and circumstances lead him to be a mayor of Bengaluru. His Doorada Betta (1973), starring Rajkumar again, shows a rural man’s challenge of adjusting to the big and glamorous city. Even in the director’s Baa Nanna Preethisu (1992), the song ‘Kempegowdre’ is the protagonist’s conversation with the historical figure who founded the town, in which a line compares the city’s growth to Hanuman’s tail.ALSO READ:Remembering S Siddalingaiah, destined to directThe idea of a rural Kannadiga getting lost in the city is seen even in the film Lacchava, which was part of Katha Sangama (2019), an anthology. In the heart-warming film, a woman from a town in north Karnataka wanders on the streets of Bengaluru without any clue how to get back home as she confuses Banaswadi with Basavanagudi. The film rings true as a South Bengalurean might feel alienated in a deserted Whitefield area, known for its less local population.Underworld diariesIn the 2000s, gullible rural men in Kannada films began to get caught in the web of the Bengaluru underworld, starting with Prem’s blockbuster Jogi (2004). HereShivarajkumar plays an innocent villager who comes to Bengaluru to earn enough money to buy his mother a pair of gold bangles. However, a series of events lead to him become a feared don.
Shivarajkumar in ‘Jogi’.
Suri’s neo-noir films (Jackie, Kaddipudi) are set against Bengaluru’s dark underbelly. He debuted with Duniya (2007), in which an innocent man in a stone quarry moves to the city to make money and build a memorial for his mother. Destiny lands him in Srirampura, once home to dreaded gangsters and organised crimes. For a while, Bengaluru’s underworld history became a hot topic in Sandalwood, thanks mainly to Agni Sreedhar’s three-part book Dadagiriya Dinagalu (My Days in Underworld: Rise of Bangalore Mafia). Aa Dinagalu (2007), based on Sreedhar’s books, was a gripping reflection of Bengaluru in the 1980s when gangsters such as M.P. Jayaraj and Kotwal Ramachandra ruled the city’s underworld. Edegarike (2012), based on Sreedhar’s story of the same name, was another well-made gangster film. Helped by proper world-building, these films were a reflection of the city in that period.Spirit of BengaluruKannada films today lack the spirit of Bengaluru. The topics of mass migration, start-up culture, and infrastructure issues can make for pertinent social dramas if only the filmmakers are capable of weaving engaging stories around them. The best attempt at that was Chilli Chicken (2023). The film was a compassionate take on migrant life in the city without insulting the locals.Perhaps something changed in the Kannada film industry after the humungous success of Yogaraj Bhat’s Mungaru Male (2006) and Gaalipata (2008). In both films, a Bengaluru-based protagonist (Ganesh) moves out of the city to a picturesque town to find love. In Gaalipata, the hero talks about being bored with the city’s high-rise buildings, nightlife, and traffic and urges his friend to plan a trip to an exotic place. Both films spurred a series of visually appealing movies, proving how filmmakers had overlooked Bengaluru in their attempt to find never-before-seen locations across Karnataka. In the era of pan-Indian movies and period dramas, a Bengaluru-centric film looks distant. Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy’s Aachar & Co (2023) was a welcome change. The gentle drama depicted the life of an orthodox family in Jayanagar in the 70s. In a hilarious scene, a girl refuses to marry a guy because he lives in Kamanahalli, which came under Bengaluru’s outskirts back then. Today, Jayanagar to Kamanahalli is an hour away by vehicle, traffic permitting!
Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy in ‘Aachar & Co’.
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The ongoing tussle between Hindi and Kannada in Bengaluru can make an interesting idea for filmmakers wanting to show the city from today’s perspective. It’s an age-old conflict, described beautifully by one scene in Professor Huchuraya (1974), where the Kannada-speaking protagonist asks for what’s written on a board in Bengaluru, and he gets replies in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil. The cosmopolitan city has never had a single identity. The beauty of Bengaluru lies in many worlds, and a lot is yet to be explored on the big screen. Published – January 03, 2025 01:25 pm IST