Exclusive: ‘Aachar & Co’ is a slice-of-life comedy spearheaded by women, says Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy

Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, who also plays the female lead in it, tells South First how Aachar & Co took off.

It’s about women empowerment

Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy in ‘Aachar & Co’. (Supplied)

A pure family entertainer, Aachar & Co revolves around an orthodox family, coming-of-age siblings’ drama, and navigating the challenges of adapting to modern times while staying true to their roots.

Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy said, “It was during this period that a lot of fascinating things started happening in our country, mainly women empowerment. When we are talking about it, we decided not to just talk but to follow it too. Hence, Aachar & Co has a majority of women behind the project.”

“It is all about equal opportunity and it is even reflected in the technical team where most of the work is handled by women,” the director explained.

The woman crew includes producer Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy (as a writer-director-lead actor), music director, protagonists, sound engineer, costume designer, creative producer and et al.

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Six-minute sample film

Cast of ‘Aachar and Co’. (Supplied)

When asked how she managed to convince PRK Productions to bankroll her dream project, Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy said it was during the promotional event of French Biryani (2020), again produced under the same banner, that she shared her idea with the late Dr Puneeth Rajkumar and Mrs Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar.

“I met Puneeth sir and Ashwini madam during the promotions of French Biriyani as I was part of the project, too. When I told him about this storyline, Puneeth sir was so excited and agreed to watch the six-minute sample film which I already prepared,” the filmmaker recalled.

Having been impressed with the sample, Mr and Mrs Puneeth Rajkumar backed the project and the film went on the floors in April 2022.

“Though we are happy that the film is releasing this month, my only regret is that Puneeth sir, who showed so much faith in me and my work, is not with us to witness the release. We all would have loved to see how he reacted to our hard work,” Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy said, with a tinge of sadness.

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A tribute to 60s era

‘Aachar & Co’. (Supplied)

As said earlier, Aachar & Co is a tribute to the Kannada films that were made in the 1960s.

“To keep it real, we mostly shot the film in Mysuru city which has still retained the essence of what old Bangalore was back in the 60s and 70s,” the director noted.

She further added, “It was the art and costume department which worked hard with a lot of research going into making it an authentic experience for the audience.”

Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy thanked her entire team members for their exemplary work.

She specially mentioned the relentless efforts of art director Vishwas Kashyap in recreating a lot of aspects to detail right from scratch, including the tiniest things such as magazines and postal cards.

She also lauded the work of costume designer Inchara Suresh.

“I request everyone to watch Aachar & Co in the nearest theatres and share your experience with others,” the filmmaker signed off.