Director Swaroop Kanchi says he is eagerly awaiting the response to his English film Bengaloored, which was released this week. Kanchi, who has been making short films since the age of 16, is so nervous this time that he has actually locked himself and refused to take calls. “Actually, I’m not worried about what people have to say about my film. I’m concerned about whether people will like the way I project it,” says the 26- year-old director who feels that he has done his job as a filmmaker and is open to criticism.
As the title suggests, the film is about the changing times of Bangalore city. The film revolves around Babruvahana, a young author, who had just returned to Bangalore after 10 years, to find that it’s a far cry from the city he used to call home and how this heavily impacts him. “I think people are going to watch the movie expecting to see Bangalore but instead they’ll be seeing themselves. In a way it’s their own story.
I think there are many things that have changed in the city. But most importantly, the intimacy and innocence of a small city is lost, along with physical changes like losing trees, old ancestral houses and coffee shops.
Kanchi, who grew up in Malleswaram, says there have been some positive changes as well in the city. “There’s more money here now. Many more people are empowered today.
Young women are supporting their families. People from small towns and villages are now doing so well here. The good economy is helping the city in many ways,” he puts it.
Shot in Majestic, Malleswaram, MG Road and other localities of Bangalore, Bengaloored stars Sandalwood actors Harish Raj, Meghana, Srinivasaprabhu, Laxmi Chandrasekhar, RT Kumar, Suma Vinod and Prakash.
Kanchi is even doing a cameo in the film. “In my life nothing is pre-planned. The decision to act too was quite spontaneous.
I didn’t think too hard and things seem to have worked out pretty well,” he says.
There are not any plans of acting in the future, as he says, “I think life has its own way of working things out. I can’t say anything right now.” The director of criticallyacclaimed films like Acid, Taxiwallah and Hongkong Dreaming says that what’s really important to him is the story and how it is told, and not the genre. “Would I like to make a masala movie? To be honest, I don’t care about the language or the industry. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s a masala film or an offbeat attempt. I’m only interested in telling good stories,” he makes a point. Bengaloored, he says, has a message for society.
“Why hate when you can love? Why live in denial when you can accept? Why not go with change, since there isn’t a choice?” he asks.
Kanchi says he desperately needs a break now. His future plans include “more wandering around the world and drifting aimlessly till existence needs me and drags me back to make another film”.