Cover version of the classic Munde Banni song in Rajaratha

The makers of the Kannada-Telugu bilingual Rajaratha/Rajaratham, directed by Anup Bhandari, will soon be releasing an audio track, just a couple of weeks before the film is out in theatres on March 23. The director, who also doubles as the film's music director, has recreated the classic song Munde banni innu munde banni. 

This track, from the film Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu, which was released in 1983 and starred Suhasini in the lead, saw Kamal Hassan making a guest appearance as a bus conductor. The present track features Nirup Bhandari and Avantika Shetty. The cover verison sung by Anup himself will be released on March 5 by Yash. 

Anup, not wanting to reveal too many details about why he chose this song, cryptically says that the track has a lot to do with the film’s story. He adds, “At a basic level, this song featuring Kamal Hassan was shot in a bus and our film Rajaratha is about a bus. But there is a deeper reason for having this song, about which the audience will come to know once they watch the film.”

Jani Master, who has worked on Bollywood films like Barfi and Jagga Jasoos, has choreographed the song in a grand set designed by Rajat Podar. The colourful costumes have been created by Neetha Shetty, including Nirup’s traditional wear as a ring master. 

The bilingual, made under Jolly Hits, has Puneeth Rajkumar and Rana Daggupathi giving voice overs to the Kannada and Telugu versions, respectively. The film has Ravishankar playing an important role and Shruthi Hariharan making a guest appearance.

With Ajaneesh Loknath providing the background score, the film has cinematography by William David.