A lot riding on Rajaratha

One of the most-awaited releases of the year, 'Rajaratha', is out today.

Directed by Anup Bhandari, Rajaratha is a bilingual shot in Kannada and Telugu. It is called Rajaratham in Telugu.

The romantic-comedy stars Nirup Bhandari, Avantika Shetty, Arya, Ravishankar and Puneet Rajkumar in the Kannada version.

The Telugu version features Rana Daggubati of Bahubali fame doing Puneet's part.

Anup conceptualised the road film in 2009. "I immediately wanted to work on a film about a bus. But we got busy with 'RangiTaranga'."

The script for Rajaratha went through many changes over the years.

"Storytelling techniques have changed and we had to make changes to make the script relevant. What you see on the screen today is the 17th draft," says Anup.

'Rajaratha' tells the tale of a bus, and characters who board it.

Roping in Puneet Rajkumar and Rana was also a cakewalk. "I owe it to 'RangiTaranga'. When I called Rana and introduced myself, he instantly knew who I was. That is only because of the extensive reach 'RangiTaranga' had," he adds.

Nirup was to launch his acting career with Rajaratha, but that happened with RangiTaranga, made with a smaller budget.

"I share great chemistry with Anup. We understand each other well. I can suggest changes to a scene without thinking too much," he says.

Many in the team 'RangiTaranga', which made it more comfortable to work in the movie."

Nirup plays Abhi, a goofy, movie-crazy mechanical engineering student who falls in love with one of the most popular girls in college.

"I could relate to my role as I remember delivering filmi lines when we sat around chatting at college," he says.

Leading lady Avantika feels 'Rajaratha' is the best she could have asked for. "The movie also marks my entry into the Telugu industry and I am super-excited," she says.

Playing Megha was also not easy as Avantika is not exactly like her.

"While she is a college girl who cares a lot about her looks, I am someone who can go off makeup for long," she Avantika.

Twist in this tale

Rana Daggubati, the evil character in 'Bahubali', gets a comic role in Rajaratha.
The film has about 80 characters. Some scenes feature 30 to 40 characters.
Rajaratha was shot in Mahabaleshwar and Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra, besides Ooty, Mysuru and Bengaluru.

Injured Nirup continued shooting

The film was shot at picturesque locations across three states. At one location, Nirup tripped, fell and fractured his right hand just before a fight sequence.
"Our schedule was fixed and there was no way we could put it off. The doctor suggested a cast for the two months. Nirup just took painkillers and we shot the fight sequences, with the action focusing on his left
hand," says Anup.

Arya's Kannada debut

Rajaratha marks the debut of Tamil actor Arya in Kannada. "While we were thinking of actors to portray a surprise role in the movie, someone suggested Arya would fit the role perfecty," director Anup says.
Anup remembered him for his work in 'Madrasapattinam' nd 'Raja Rani'. Arya was in Europe when Anup called him and narrated the storyline in two minutes. "He immediately agreed. I consider myself really lucky."
ANUP BHANDARI.