After the enormous success of Rangitaranga, his debut film which created a record of sorts in Sandalwood, the multi-talented composer, lyricist, and director Anup Bhandari is back with a laughter chariot — Rajaratha. This time, he teams up with his talented brother-actor Nirup Bhandari and Avantika Shetty for what promises to be an adventurous ride. The versatile Anup is excited about his second venture, a film in both Kannada and Telugu. He shares more about his ‘short’ filmmaking journey with us.
“I had this subject in my mind, all thought out before Rangitaranga, but due to budget issues, we started with Rangitaranga. We had intended to do the film with a nominal budget, but it eventually ended up being quite a costly affair. The second film Rajaratha is a different type of film, as I was very sure that I did not want to be typecast or branded to a particular genre. Though I have retained the core element, I have made a few changes in the script,” says Anup Bhandari.
The bilingual film Rajaratha (in Kannada), is titled Rajaratham in Telugu. Apart from Nirup and Avantika, Anup’s most-expected chariot has star actor Arya
and Ravishankar in a hatke avatar.
“It is a romantic comedy. With a surprising ‘guess’ element that had also worked wonderfully in Rangitaranga, this new ‘laughter’ potion Rajaratha is like a trump card! Along with the fresh narrative and an experimental screenplay, we have used unconventional methods to keep the audience smiling from ear to ear throughout Rajaratha. There is a bit of emotion added in, but it is the laughter riot which is the focus. That apart, the making is more grander with more of a visual extravaganza,” Anup adds.
Anup, who had scored music for this one too, says the lyrics are in pure Kannada and pure Telugu penned specially. He has ensured that the Telugu version is also original.
Despite his interest in music early on, Anup shifted focus to filmmaking as composing was a costly affair back then. “My father Suresh Bhandari, who is a teleserial maker, worked predominantly in the 90s. We never visited shooting locations. My younger brother Nirup and I would fantasise about filming a movie where he would act as a hero, and I would direct. I was more into writing lyrics and composing music but as it was quite an expensive process, I shifted to film making,” shares Anup.
With an engineering degree, he moved to the US, which is where Anup learnt the art seriously, and started making short films that gave him the confidence for a star venture, and that is how he ended up making Rangitaranga.
Born and brought up in Mysuru, Anup’s other passion — music is also on the right track. With the great compositions of his first venture, one can expect this royal chariot also to impress in its melody. “The instant feeling is what works for me as a composer. Even the feel of the music is different, as I have consciously composed with heavy sounds and a huge orchestra. Being a director, it helps me suit scenes and work on the overall theme of the film,” he says.
Anup was swamped with a lot of offers to compose for other films in the past. With his own film in the making, it was difficult to juggle all of it. But he is now scoring music for a venture produced by Rockline Venkatesh which stars Nirup and Radhika Pandit in the lead.
