Arya Mahesh, the director behind Kolara and English Manja, is back with his next project, Garden, for which he teams up with Takkar actor Manoj for a drama rooted in the pulse and personality of Bengaluru.

Arya Mahesh calls Garden “a mirror to the city’s native flavour, both in its storyline and its dialect.” The director adds, “I’ve always wanted to bring untold narratives to the screen. Manoj was the ideal choice for this role, and producer G Muniraju’s trust makes this journey even more exciting.”

For Manoj, Garden marks another turn in a rapidly diversifying career. After early supporting roles in films like Ambareesha and Chakravarthy alongside Challenging Star Darshan, he broke through as a lead in Takkar, a cybercrime thriller. He’s currently wrapping Dharani, a rural drama from Ananthu vs. Nusrat director Sudheer Shanubhog, which explores traditional cockfighting culture.

“Takkar was about cybercrime, Dharani dives deep into rural traditions, but Garden is a full-on Bengaluru local film,” Manoj says. “As soon as I heard the script, I knew I had to be part of it. People will see a very different side of me in this role.”

Produced under the MR Cinemas banner, Garden was officially announced with a low-key script pooja, and the team plans to commence shooting in September, with key sequences to be shot across Bengaluru, aiming to capture the city’s energy, language, and soul on screen.