After the success of Rangitaranga , the Bhandari brothers have teamed up again for their next film Rajaratha . The film has Nirup and Avantika Shetty in the lead and is a bilingual made in Kannada as Rajaratha and Telugu as Rajaratham.
The film is written and directed by Anup Bhandari and produced by Ajay Reddy, Vishu Dakappagari, Anju Vallabh and Sathish Sastry. The film score is composed by B Ajaneesh Loknath, the soundtrack is by Anup and cinematography by William David.
The film, which is set to release in December, released its posters showing Nirup in a new look. While he donned the look of a man of sorrow for Rangitaranga , the poster of Rajaratha depicts him as a man of joy. In fact, an image even shows him wearing the Superman shirt, a cape and shorts, making us wonder if the film will be a rib-tickling comedy.
The film will also feature Tamil actor Arya, who will make his Sandalwood debut with Rajaratha . Nirup, who plays an engineering student in the film, speaks to Metroplus and gives us a peek into what the film is going to be all about.
Excerpts:
What is Rajaratha all about?
It is a romantic comedy and is completely opposite to Rangitaranga -– in terms of theme, characters and storyline. I don’t want to reveal much. But the film will be a total surprise.
How easy or tough is it to make people laugh?
It is difficult. Comedy is all about timing. In Rajaratha it is more situational comedy and we have gone in for realistic acting. It will be just like the people you come across in real life. Nothing is over-the-top in terms of mannerisms or acting.
Tell us about your character...
I play an engineering student. It is about his love story and journey. This role is more fun as compared to Rangitaranga , where my character is always sulking. Here I am quite goofy. Also most actors in the film come from a theatre background. Having them made a lot of difference.
Does theatre give the actor an added edge?
It does. I did theatre with Ratan Thakur and still go to him for advise. Theatre trains you in a lot of technicalities of acting. You come trained in the little nuances of acting. These things are picked up by other actors after a few films, but those from theatre come trained with such skills. It is easy to act and direct someone who knows these technicalities.
Rangitaranga was a hit. Does that put pressure on you for Rajaratha ?
Yes. Expectations are high and people are eagerly waiting for our next film. They are curious to know what we have done. There is pressure. But we want to tell the audience to treat Rajaratha as a new film and not expect a thriller again. When Rangitaranga was a hit, we were asked to come out with a sequel. But, we did not want to be safe and do that.
Why do people want the same success formula repeated?
As an actor, I feel once they see you in a particular role they probably think of you in the shades of the same character – be it the audience or directors. I was offered similar roles, except for a few who think and look at us differently.
What does that do to you as an actor when they cast you in the same mould?
It does not disappoint me. I know my strengths as an actor. Rajaratha will break my Rangitaranga image. My aim is to do something new with every film I work in.
Both films are directed by Anup. Are you open to working with other directors too?
Of course. Rajaratha was planned before Rangitaranga and we both, Anup and I, wanted Rajaratha to be our second film. Now I am working under Rockline Productions and a film with Radhika Pandit.
The film is a bilugual – Kannada and Telugu. Is it dubbed in Telugu?
No. The film was shot twice — once in Kannada and once in Telugu. If we shot a car with the ‘KA’ registration then we re-shot the same with an Andhra registration for the Telugu version. So, it will be a original Telugu and an original Kannada film, without dubbing. And, this will be my debut in Telugu films.
You also injured yourself while performing a stunt for this film...
Allan Amin, one of the top stunt masters in India, is protective about his actors and did not want me do the stunt. I insisted and was injured during the shoot. It was a rain sequence, where I had to jump six to seven steps in the old university building, which has huge steps. The monitor shot went right, but during the take, I slipped while jumping, fell on my back and used my free hand to break the fall. After the second take, my right hand went numb and I ended up with two hair-line fractures in my right wrist.
What do you feel about the new kind of Kannada cinema that is coming out in these days?
I believe experimental films have always been made since the time of Puttanna Kanagal. He took up taboo subjects and made them work. We had films like Boothayyana Maga Ayyu and Bangarada Manushya . We also had stalwarts like Dr Rajkumar and Dr Vishnuvardhan and we had actors like Anantnag and a visionary in Shankarnag. They have contributed much to Kannada films. It is wrong to think, newcomers have changed the scenario. They have only built on the foundation laid by the great actors and makers of the past.
