Anup Bhandari (born 2 March 1982) 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 (2015), featuring his brother Nirup Bhandari, with whom he frequently collaborates.
Early life Anup Bhandari was born on 2 March 1982 in Puttur, Karnataka to Sudhakar Bhandary, the director of the television serials Premada Kadambari (1996) and Kurigalu Sir Kurigalu, and Rathna Bhandary. He was brought up in Mysore, where he started learning piano at the age of four and 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 New York, where he worked for almost a decade before returning to India to make his debut feature film.
Career 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 Russell Harvard. This paved way for his debut feature film RangiTaranga, starring his brother Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Narayan, Avantika Shetty and Sai Kumar.
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. RangiTaranga was also one of the 305 films shortlisted for the Academy Awards (The Oscars) but did not make it to the final nominations.88th reminder list oscars.org
Anup won several awards for his direction, music direction and lyrics including Filmfare, SIIMA, IIFA and Karnataka State Award. Anup followed this up with Rajaratha starring Nirup and Avantika Shetty. The film is narrated from the point of view of a bus, which was voiced by Puneeth. He also provided the music and wrote lyrics for Rockline Productions' Aadi Lakshmi Puraana directed by V. Priya and starring Nirup and Radhika Pandit. 2022 saw the release of the mystery thriller Vikrant Rona.
Personal life
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, who has featured in all of his directorials.
Filmography As film director Year Film Notes 2015 RangiTaranga 2018 Rajaratha 2022Vikrant Rona 2026Billa Ranga Baashaa Ashwattama
As an actor Year Film Role Notes 2010 Words 'R' announcer Short film 2015 RangiTaranga Gautham Suvarna 2018 Rajaratha Media reporter Cameo appearances 2022Vikrant RonaOld photographer 2025 Just Married Anand
As lyricist Year Film Notes 2015 RangiTaranga 2018 Rajaratha 2019 Aadi Lakshmi Puraana 2019 Dabangg 3 Kannada dubbed version 2021 Kotigobba 3 2022Vikrant Rona 2024 Max 2026Billa Ranga Baashaa Ashwattama
Short films Year Title 2005 Life Meets Life Nemesis 2010 Words
Discography As composer and playback singer Year Title SongsScore Notes Kurigalu Sir Kurigalu TV serial; composer of title song 2015 RangiTaranga Playback singer for "Akka Pakka" 2018 Rajaratha Playback singer for "Gandaka", "Banana" and "Mundhe Banni" 2019 Aadi Lakshmi Puraana Playback singer for "Mutthaala"
Awards Movie Award Category Result RangiTaranga 2015 Karnataka State Film Awards Best Debut Film Of Newcomer Director 1st IIFA UtsavamBest PictureBest DirectionBest Music DirectionBest Lyrics (for "Kareyole")63rd Filmfare Awards SouthBest DirectorBest Music Director5th South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Film- KannadaBest Debut DirectorBest Music DirectorBest Lyricist for "Ee Sanje" IBNLive Movie Awards Best Director South IBNLive Movie Awards
References