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Anup Bhandari is an Indian film director, composer and lyricist who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He made his directorial début with the mystery thriller film Rangitaranga, featuring his brother Nirup Bhandari, in 2015.[3][4]
Anup Bhandari was born on 2 March 1982 in Puttur, Karnataka to Sudhakar Bhandary and Rathna Bhandary. He was brought up in Mysore, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Information Science from Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology. After graduating, he joined Infosys Technologies as a Software Engineer in Mysore and eventually moved to USA, where he worked for almost a decade before returning to India to make his debut feature film.[2]
Bhandari started off making short films while working for Infosys and won several awards. While in the US, he directed a short film called "WORDS" starring Hollywood actor Russell Harvard of There Will Be Blood and Fargo fame. This paved way for his debut feature film RangiTaranga, starring his brother Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Narayan, Avantika Shetty and Sai Kumar.[5]
RangiTaranga turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters. It also opened overseas market for Kannada films in a big way. It became the first Kannada film to release in many countries, the first Kannada film to appear on the New York Box Office Listing and the first and only Kannada film to run for 50 days in USA.[6][7][8][9] RangiTaranga was also one of the 305 films shortlisted for the Academy Awards (The Oscars) but did not make it to the final nominations.[10][11]
Anup won several awards for his direction, music direction and lyrics including Filmfare, SIIMA, IIFA and Karnataka State Award.[12][13]
Anup followed this up with Rajaratha starring Nirup Bhandari, Avantika Shetty and Tamil actor Arya in a pivotal role. The film is narrated from the point of view of a bus, which was voiced by Puneeth Rajkumar.
He also provided the music and wrote lyrics for Rockline Productions' Aadi Lakshmi Puraana directed by Priya V and starring Nirup Bhandari and Radhika Pandit. He penned the lyrics for all the songs of Dabangg3 Kannada version
2022 saw the release of the blockbuster mystery thriller Vikrant Rona with Kichcha Sudeep, which was appreciated for its high standards of making, performances and technical brilliance. It was an unrelated prequel to his debut feature film RangiTaranga.[14]
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Anup Bhandari is married to Neetha Shetty, who works as costume designer for all his films. They have a daughter Nishka Bhandari. His brother Nirup Bhandari is an actor.
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Music Director | Lyricist | Actor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | RangiTaranga | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Playback singer for "Akka Pakka" | |
| 2018 | Rajaratha | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Playback singer for "Mundhe Banni" | [15] [16] [17] |
| 2019 | Aadi Lakshmi Purana | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Music Director & Lyricist only | |
| 2019 | Dabangg 3 | No | No | No | Yes | No | Lyricist for Kannada Dubbed version | [18] |
| 2021 | Kotigobba 3 | No | No | No | Yes | No | Lyricist for the song "Pataki Poriyo" | |
| 2022 | Vikrant Rona | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cameo appearance as old photographer | [19] |
| TBA | Billa Ranga Baashaa † | Yes | Yes | TBA | Yes | TBA | Script Finalized. Releasing in 2 parts. | [20] |
| TBA | Ashwattama † | Yes | Yes | TBA | Yes | TBA | Script work in progress | |
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| Movie | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RangiTaranga | 2015 Karnataka State Film Awards | Best Debut Film Of Newcomer Director | Won | [21] |
| 1st IIFA Utsavam | Best Picture | Won | [22] | |
| Best Direction | Won | |||
| Best Music Direction | Won | |||
| Best Lyrics (for "Kareyole") | Won | |||
| 63rd Filmfare Awards South | Best Director | Won | [12] | |
| Best Music Director | Nominated | |||
| 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Film- Kannada | Nominated | [13][23] | |
| Best Debut Director | Won | |||
| Best Music Director | Nominated | |||
| Best Lyricist for "Ee Sanje" | Won | |||
| IBNLive Movie Awards | Best Director South | Won | [24] | |
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