Director Anup Bhandari expressed his gratitude to the Kannada film audience while reminiscing of the release of RangiTaranga in 2015. “5 years ago, on the same day (July 3) our RangiTaranga became your RangiTaranga! Thanks to each and every one of you who made RangiTaranga so special for us,” tweeted Anup Bhandari, who also attached a video in which he makes a special mention of the Kannada audience, and says he owes the film’s success to them.
Rangitaranga was the directorial debut of Anup, who also wrote the film. Produced by H K Prakash, the mystery thriller starred a host of newcomers, including the director’s brother, Nirup Bhandari, along with Avantika Shetty, Radhika Chetan and Sai Kumar. The latter’s performance was hugely appreciated and was also one of the highlights of the film.
Opening to a positive response, RangiTaranga also made its presence felt on a global level when it was released in Europe, Canada, New Zealand, USA, Australia and UAE. The film was hailed for its technical aspects, such as the work of cinematographers Lance Kaplan and William David, and the background score composed by Anup. The filmmaker also penned the lyrics.
Ask Anup how he would want to describe his memories of the film and he says, “Wherever I have spoken about the film in different parts of the world, I have always said that the successful run happened because of the audience. This was a film which didn’t have huge publicity and it still managed to garner a lot of attraction solely through word of mouth.”
The director is now looking forward to repeating history. “I will come back with another RangiTaranga, and I already have thought about it. However, I can’t mention a specific deadline, and I want to keep the audience guessing,” says Anup Bhandari, adding that he has done the groundwork for the film, and will take it further only after he fulfils his current commitment.
“I will take up my next project only after I am completely done with Phantom,” Anup tells Cinema Express.
Phantom is being produced by Manjunath Gowda under the banner of Shalini Arts. This film has Anup collaborating with Sudeep for the first time. Ajaneesh B Loknath has been brought on board to compose the music.