RangiTaranga (2015)

RangiTaranga (English: Colourful Wave) is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language psychological thriller written and directed by Anup Bhandari in his debut, and produced by H. K. Prakash, under Shree Devi Entertainers. It features debutantes Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Chetan and Avantika Shetty in the lead roles, along with veteran actor, Saikumar. Anup Bhandari said that in writing the story for the film, he took inspiration from "Dennana Dennana", a track that featured as the theme song in the 1990s Kannada television soap Guddada Bhoota. In addition to directing the film, Bhandari also scored its soundtrack and penned the lyrics. It featured cinematography by US-based cinematographer Lance Kaplan and William David, the former of whom had previously collaborated with Bhandari on a short film. RangiTaranga is set in Kamarottu, a fictional village in the coastal region of Karnataka, at Indu's ancestral village, where she, along with her husband Gautham Suvarna, decide to perform a ritual to ward off evil spirits. However, Indu goes missing, which leads Gautham and a reporter named Sandhya to investigate the disappearance of pregnant women (as well as Gautham's unknown past). Parts of the filming took place in Mysore, Bangalore, Madikeri, Puttur, Sira, Ottapalam, Alappuzha and Ooty. Upon theatrical release on 3 July 2015, the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and audience. The film went on to become the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2015. The film made it into the list of productions eligible for the 88th Academy Awards, but it did not make it into the final list of nominations.