10 years of Rangitaranga: Vikrant Rona maker Anup Bhandari’s debut film to return to theatres
Rangitaranga, which introduced Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Narayan, Avantika Shetty to Kannada cinema, was a sleeper hit and became the highest grossing Kannada film of 2015
Anup Bhandari directed RangiTaranga
Last Updated: 08.27 PM, Jun 24, 2025
Ten years ago, a newbie team took Kannada cinema by storm, literally. Written and directed by techie-turned-filmmaker Anup Bhandari, the film, Rangitaranga, introduced a newbie cast as well, in the form of Anup’s brother Nirup, Radhika Narayan and Avantika Shetty and became a sleeper hit. Made on a modest budget, the film went on to become the highest grossing Kannada film of 2015.
Released in theatres on July 3, 2015, Rangitaranga celebrates a decade this year and to mark the occasion, the film team is bringing it back to theatres. If you’ve not seen Rangitaranga and have not been introduced to the world of Kamarottu, or fancy a rewatch on the big screen, Anup’s film will re-release on July 4, 2025.
All about Rangitaranga
Rangitaranga is set in Kamarottu, a fictional village in the coastal region of Karnataka, that novelist Gautham Suvarna (Nirup) and his wife Indu (Radhika), visit to perform certain rituals to ward off evil spirits. But then, a heavily-pregnant Indu goes missing, which leads Gautham on a quest to find her. He is joined by a reporter, Sandhya (Avantika) and the duo not only stumble upon a curious case of pregnant women going missing in Kamarottu, but also the mystery behind Gautham’s past.
Anup had followed this up with a comedy called Rajaratha, which did not work at the box office and then took his third film, Vikrant Rona, back to Kamarottu. Led by Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep, the film was set in the Rangitaranga universe and had the actor, as Vikrant Rona, investigating the disappearance of young children in the village. Like in Rangitaranga, here too, a Brahmarakshasa is believed to be behind the strange occurrences, but is it really?
Anup and Sudeep are currently working on their second collaboration, Billa Ranga Baashaa, a fantasy action film set 200 years in the future.