Billa Ranga Baashaa maker Anup Bhandari admits hiding Vikrant Rona's Rangitaranga connect was wrong

Hindustan Times

28-06-2025

In 2022, when the promotions of Kiccha Sudeep's Vikrant Rona began, it was publicized as an action fantasy drama, with the trailer declaring that the film would present the world's new hero. Expectations of a vigilante/superhero movie grew with this, but at the same time, eagle-eyed audiences noticed a few elements that suggested a connect with director Anup Bhandari's debut film, Rangitaranga. Kiccha Sudeep in Vikrant Rona
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The Gara Gara Gaggara Jarba Pira Nalkuri Netthara Parba mentioned in the Vikrant Rona trailer featured in the Dennana Dennana song from Rangitaranga. There was also a news clipping about an event in Kamarottu village, which is where Rangitaranga was set, on the investigation board Sudeep's character puts up. The speculation was that Vikrant Rona would be an origin story, given that it was set in a time before the events of Rangitaranga and that Anup would probably urge audiences to watch/rewatch his maiden film before the Sudeep-starrer hits theatres.
That was not to be, though, which, in hindsight, Anup says was a wrong call made at the time. There was no mention of a Rangitaranga connect whatsoever, so when the film released, that was mentioned as one of its major issues. Audiences would have preferred if Anup had admitted that it was in the Rangitaranga universe. Now, as he prepares to re-release the film to celebrate its 10th anniversary on July 4, 2025, Anup has clarified that Vikrant Rona was initially meant to be Rangitaranga 2 and took the shape it is in now after Kiccha Sudeep came on board.
The filmmaker says that he was advised to make certain changes in keeping with Sudeep's image, following which the actor agreed to do the film. During the promotions, then, there were internal team discussions about whether or not to reveal the Rangitaranga connect. There was a school of thought that given the scale of the project, it would not be wise to make such a revelation. With so much money at stake, Anup felt he could not say no and stick to his guts. But today, he feels he should have.
Despite this issue, Vikrant Rona was a major hit, but Anup says that it would have been even better if they had come clean about it being set in the Rangitaranga universe, given that the latter was a much-loved film. His plan, he adds, was to have Sudeep's introduction shot with a rock version of Dennena Dennana playing, which, however then that thought changed and it became an action sequence with the Gumma Banda Gumma song.