<p>One of the most-awaited releases of the year, 'Rajaratha', is out today.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Directed by Anup Bhandari, Rajaratha is a bilingual shot in Kannada and Telugu. It is called Rajaratham in Telugu.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The romantic-comedy stars Nirup Bhandari, Avantika Shetty, Arya, Ravishankar and Puneet Rajkumar in the Kannada version.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Telugu version features Rana Daggubati of Bahubali fame doing Puneet's part.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anup conceptualised the road film in 2009. "I immediately wanted to work on a film about a bus. But we got busy with 'RangiTaranga'."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The script for Rajaratha went through many changes over the years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">'Rajaratha' tells the tale of a bus, and characters who board it.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nirup was to launch his acting career with Rajaratha, but that happened with RangiTaranga, made with a smaller budget.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I share great chemistry with Anup. We understand each other well. I can suggest changes to a scene without thinking too much," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many in the team 'RangiTaranga', which made it more comfortable to work in the movie."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nirup plays Abhi, a goofy, movie-crazy mechanical engineering student who falls in love with one of the most popular girls in college.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I could relate to my role as I remember delivering filmi lines when we sat around chatting at college," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Playing Megha was also not easy as Avantika is not exactly like her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p>Twist in this tale</p>.<p>Rana Daggubati, the evil character in 'Bahubali', gets a comic role in Rajaratha.<br />The film has about 80 characters. Some scenes feature 30 to 40 characters.<br />Rajaratha was shot in Mahabaleshwar and Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra, besides Ooty, Mysuru and Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Injured Nirup continued shooting</p>.<p>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.<br />"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<br />hand," says Anup.</p>.<p>Arya's Kannada debut</p>.<p>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.<br />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."<br />ANUP BHANDARI.</p>
<p>One of the most-awaited releases of the year, 'Rajaratha', is out today.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Directed by Anup Bhandari, Rajaratha is a bilingual shot in Kannada and Telugu. It is called Rajaratham in Telugu.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The romantic-comedy stars Nirup Bhandari, Avantika Shetty, Arya, Ravishankar and Puneet Rajkumar in the Kannada version.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Telugu version features Rana Daggubati of Bahubali fame doing Puneet's part.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anup conceptualised the road film in 2009. "I immediately wanted to work on a film about a bus. But we got busy with 'RangiTaranga'."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The script for Rajaratha went through many changes over the years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">'Rajaratha' tells the tale of a bus, and characters who board it.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nirup was to launch his acting career with Rajaratha, but that happened with RangiTaranga, made with a smaller budget.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I share great chemistry with Anup. We understand each other well. I can suggest changes to a scene without thinking too much," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many in the team 'RangiTaranga', which made it more comfortable to work in the movie."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nirup plays Abhi, a goofy, movie-crazy mechanical engineering student who falls in love with one of the most popular girls in college.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I could relate to my role as I remember delivering filmi lines when we sat around chatting at college," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Playing Megha was also not easy as Avantika is not exactly like her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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.</p>.<p>Twist in this tale</p>.<p>Rana Daggubati, the evil character in 'Bahubali', gets a comic role in Rajaratha.<br />The film has about 80 characters. Some scenes feature 30 to 40 characters.<br />Rajaratha was shot in Mahabaleshwar and Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra, besides Ooty, Mysuru and Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Injured Nirup continued shooting</p>.<p>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.<br />"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<br />hand," says Anup.</p>.<p>Arya's Kannada debut</p>.<p>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.<br />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."<br />ANUP BHANDARI.</p>
