Working on director Vijay Kumar’s City Lights was never going to be a walk in the park for Vinay Rajkumar and debutante Monisha Vijay Kumar, for the film takes an unflinching look at the underbelly of Bengaluru, trading glossy sets for the grit of the city’s unseen corners. For both actors, the project became a test of instinct, observation, and stripping away artificial acting. Vinay learnt to see Bengaluru through a whole new lens. “Vijay sir has seen a lot in life, and he brought so many real-life incidents to us,” says Vinay, adding, “He explained how people actually react in extreme situations. Honestly, his script had everything written down so well that the moment you read the scene, you find all the answers right there.”
Vinay explains that fitting into an everyday character was less about physical looks and more about tapping into universal feelings. “On the outside, my appearance can be anything. But deep down, human emotions are universal. The way someone expresses love or feels sadness doesn’t change. My sadness might look different from someone else’s, but pain is pain. When you tap into that basic truth, people will automatically connect to it,” he says.
For Monisha, Vijay Kumar’s daughter, her acting debut came with no shortcuts. She points out that her father made the ground rules clear from day one. “I’d be lying if I said he didn’t pick me because I’m his daughter, but he also believed I could pull it off,” Monisha says. “More than that, he told me upfront: ‘You have to dedicate yourself completely and work very hard. Only then can you think about doing this.’ With that confidence and love, he gave me the role.”
Playing an underprivileged young woman living on the margins of the city meant stepping far out of her comfort zone. “My dad always made sure we didn’t go to fancy schools; he sent us to normal neighbourhood schools because he wanted us to grow up around people from all walks of life,” she shares. To get into the skin of the character, she spent time observing real lives up close. “When I went to Majestic, I saw girls wandering around aimlessly and helplessly. My dad told me, ‘This is the world your character lives in. You don’t need to copy them, just look at them and know their reality.’ That gave me the base I needed.”
Working with an actor-director also meant there was plenty of room for discussion rather than friction. “We never really had arguments on set; it was always healthy discussions,” Vinay notes. “We all wanted the scene to come out well. Vijay sir has lived with this entire story from start to finish. As an actor, I only travel with my character. So his perspective is what matters most.”
Monisha adds that the freedom on set brought out the best in them. “Dad never came and told me, ‘This is exactly how you must do it.’ He’d just say, ‘This is the situation, do whatever you want, I won’t cut the camera.’ That freedom allowed us to improvise,” she says, adding that having Vinay by her side was a huge cushion. “Coming from similar backgrounds, I could always run to Vinay with my self-doubts and ask him how he handled things when he started.”
As the film nears its release this week, both actors believe City Lights aims to strip the romanticism off Bengaluru’s nightscape. “Once you watch this film, you will see Bengaluru in a new light,” Vinay says, concluding, “You might walk down the same road you’ve known for years, but you’ll start seeing things you never noticed before.”Produced by Vijay Kumar and Vikram Arya under Duniya Talkies and Yantrouddharaka, and distributed by KVN Productions, City Lights is written and directed by Vijay Kumar. With music by Charan Raj, cinematography by Shivasena, editing by Deepu S Kumar, and dialogues by Maasthi.
