Film: Rangitaranga
Director: Anup Bhandari
Cast: Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Chetan, Avantika Shetty
eautiful, chilling and bold. That would well define Rangitaranga. At a time when the commercial lure of a subject overshadows good filmmaking and scriptwriting, debutant director Anup Bhandari definitely has chosen the road-less-travelled. And he brings a fresh new imagery to the screen with this edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Laced with three stories, his simple romantic narrative with ounces of suspenseful material has a no nonsense edge. And the tumultuous journey ultimately culminates into a free-wheeling entertainer.
Rangitaranga revolves around Gautham Suvarna (Nirup Bhandari), a freelance writer living in Ooty. He is married to Indu (Radhika Chetan), a painter. Indu is pregnant and on her insistence, both travel to pay homage to Indu’s ancestors and perform a pooja at Kamarottu (fictional village). In another track, a beautiful and ambitious journalist Sandhya Bhargav (Avantika Shetty), who is always hunting for scoops, gets a lead about a writer and lands in Kamarottu.
The suspense begins when Gautam’s peaceful life is shattered and his wife disappears. Restlessly, he begins a desperate search, unearthing evidence that shockingly reveals truths he never realised existed. More turbulence follows, when Sandhya reveals his actual identity and he gets to know that his wife is somebody else in reality.
The film steeped in the strong ethos of a bygone culture, is beautifully etched and well enacted by newcomers. Anup’s storyline does not differentiate between the shades of good and evil. The journey exposes secrets but does not lose its balance. The director has showcased his understanding of horror, friendship, revenge and forgiveness, well.
The characters display excellent histrionics with Nirup shining as an intellectual actor. A definite hero material, this one. The two heroines, Radhika Chetan and Avantika Shetty fit well in the story. Sai Kumar, known for his dialogues, springs a surprise as a postmaster while Shilpi Singh, Arvind Rao, Chethan Raj and Ananth Velu give excellent support.
The film thrills even more because of the expertise in framing displayed by Hollywood cinematographer Lance Kaplan (supported by Willaim David). Rangitaranga, which means colourful waves, gets a fresh melodious feel with music by director Anup Bhandari and equally backed by a good back ground score by Ajaneesh Lokanath.
The only glaring flaw can be traced back to the editing desk, which is solely responsible for the film’s slow pace. However, the flaws can be treated as minor in a grand storyline that takes the audience through varied emotions. Rangitaranga gets our applause for making an earnest effort.