It’s gonna be reel: Movie on the life and times of NRN, Sudha Murty is in the works

BENGALURU: A movie based on the life of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and wife Sudha Murty is in the works to showcase their journey, forty years after the IT services provider was set up, transforming an entire generation of middle-class Indians and highlighting a sector that has brought fame to India.

Ashwiny Iyer-Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari — the writer, director, producer duo — is finalising the screenplay for the movie, which will be produced in Murthy’s mother tongue Kannada, besides Tamil and Hindi.

“When we approached Mr Murthy, he wanted us to be accurate and set a deadline for the movie. He did not want a project that was neverending,” Iyer-Tiwari, an advertising professional-turned-film-maker, told ET. “The sooner the world knows the story, it is better,” she said.

“I happily watch movies made on the life and achievement of others. Like, for instance, the one on MS Dhoni. But I would feel too shy to talk about or watch a movie on us. But, maybe we cannot escape, that is a fact of life,” Murty, who heads Infosys Foundation and is a noted philanthropist herself, said.

The film-makers are currently gathering inputs from family and friends, including their son Rohan.


Iyer-Tiwari made her Bollywood debut in 2016 with a comedy, 'Nil Battey Sannata'.

Her Kangana Ranaut-starrer, 'Panga', a film based on a kabbadi champion’s return to the arena after motherhood, is currently running in theatres. The film producers have registered “Murthy” as the working name for the movie but has yet to formalise the title or crew.

“Our focus now is to finish the script. Once it is ready, we will finalise the cast. There are so many good actors, it allows us to expand the canvas,” said Iyer-Tiwari, adding she was a fan of Sudha Murty’s. For Sudha Murty, movies are not a new experience.


She has made cameo appearances in Kannada movies — 'Prarthane', 'Preethi Illada Mele', and 'Uppu, Huli, Khara' — before. However, this time she will be the focus of the story. “This will not be a documentary, but a life story. There are so many people who have been touched by them, it is insane. Even Steve Jobs is not given the respect that Murthy gets,” Iyer-Tiwari said. The story of how Infosys started is well chronicled.

In 1981, the Murthys raised Rs 10,000 from Sudha Murty after she pledged her gold, forming Infosys in Pune with six colleagues at Patni Computers, before they moved their company to Bengaluru.