'Kamal Haasan inspires me'

Stepping into unchartered territory can be both exciting and terrifying — a feeling that is shared by those who enter the film industry for the first time. For the 6 ft 2 inches Nirup Bhandari, who will be setting foot in Sandalwood as hero with the film RangiTaranga, the feeling is no different.
The 30-year-old software professional hadn’t planned for it this way. Although a theatre artist with aspirations to become an actor some day, he was happy to assist his brother, director Anup Bhandari, in making his debut film’s dream come true.When negotiations with a few actors to play the lead role didn’t go through due to various reasons, the film’s producer took a call — to cast Nirup in the lead. Few photoshoots and an audition later, the film had a debutant hero.
Nirup, quite measured in his words, is excited about the movie, but claims he isn’t nervous. “That’s because of two reasons — one, I am not considering this film as my big launch into the film industry, and two, the faith my brother and I have in this script. Yes, it’s hard to detach yourself from your script and have an objective view, but even people who are often critical about our work, such as our dad, seemed to be very appreciative of it. So that’s a big boost for us,” says the actor.
Nirup and Anup are the sons of director Sudhakar Saaja (Bhandari), which partly explains their interest in being a part of the film world. Most of the trio’s discussions revolve around two things — films and cricket. Nirup, who represented Karnataka in the Under-16 cricket division, found the debut experience easy, as his brother was at the helm. “I know exactly what my brother likes and doesn’t, and what he expected out of this role, so that made my job easier. Sure, we had our differences in various parts of the movie, but we always managed to sort it out. Whenever we didn’t, we’d just go ahead with what he decided, as he’s smarter, and because he happens to be the big brother,” Nirup says with a grin. The influence of theatre is evident in the way Nirup has prepared for the role of a writer in this mystery thriller, despite it being his first movie. Having chosen to go down the path of method acting, he says, “In an interview, Kamal Haasan said that he still feels he could’ve done a better job in Nayagan, which can be considered the epitome of acting. I know I have a long way to go, but seeing an actor of his calibre say that inspires me to adopt a work ethic of being meticulous in my preparation and set the bar high for myself.” Nirup credits his brother with bringing out the best in not just his character, but even those of the two debutante heroines, Radhika Chetan and Avantika Shetty. He says, “Anup explained the base nature of our characters, and gave us the freedom to develop on it. He insisted that we take an acting workshop before the filming started, which helped a lot, and made us understand the importance of a strong on-screen persona.”
The debut actor is confident about the movie’s script, and the cast and crew’s hardwork. “Yash has seen the film, and in spite of being a seasoned actor, the plot twists took him by surprise. So it’s definitely become harder for us to not be optimistic about the film’s response,” he says.