Anup Bhandari explains why he adopted a collaborative writing process for Kiccha Sudeep’s Billa Ranga Baashaa

Kannada filmmaker Anup Bhandari has been working on the script of Billa Ranga Baashaa for quite a while; it was, after all, the film that he’d pitched to Kiccha Sudeep even before they collaborated on Vikrant Rona. The film finally went on floors this year, with what Anup says is the 35th draft of the script. Given that it is an ambitious project set in the future, Anup is not prepared to make any misstep.

Although his last, Vikrant Rona was a commercial success, the fact that its Rangitaranga roots were not revealed pre-release hurt its prospects. This time around, since Anup has to create a world, he’s not only going by what he has written or what has been discussed with his team, but is expanding the gambit, by involving people whose feedback he appreciates. “You make a film once; there’s no point going back and saying, ‘Oh, I should have done it differently.’ I am pre-empting that by involving other minds in the writing process,” he says, in conversation with FDFS Kannada. 

Anup, who is not a fan of table readings, has changed his modus operandi this time around. “During the making of Rangitaranga, barring hero Nirup Bhandari and the heroines, no one else knew the entire story, as I thought that it would diminish the mystery element. This time, though, I have followed the exact opposite strategy, because with big-ticket cinema, it is not about what happens, but rather, how it happens. So, even if you know the climax, you’ll still enjoy the film; Billa Ranga Baashaa is such a movie,” he says.

The director adds that he’s narrated the script to as many people he could. “Each time, the group would have 5 constants, who’ve been at every reading and at least 2-3 new people, including from the film industry. For instance, I have narrated it twice to Hemanth M Rao, because he is a very good writer and I value his inputs as a filmmaker. He gave me feedback and I have made modifications accordingly,” says Anup, adding that he’s taken feedback from common audiences also and incorporated elements that he thought were right.