Nirup Bhandari's Sanjeev Gambhira is a London-returned travel writer in Vikrant Rona

The actor was not the first choice as Sanjeev Gambhira, but once he was given the responsibility, ook it upon himself to ensure that he would not disappoint the team.

Nirup Bhandari as Sanjeev Gambhira in Vikrant Rona

When Anup Bhandari set out to make his third film - this time with Sudeep in the lead - after two movies with Nirup Bhandari, although he wanted to collaborate with his brother yet again, it wasn’t a given from the word go. Nirup’s inclusion as Sanjeev Gambhira happened much later, when Sudeep suggested that the actor would be apt for the role. Nirup, though, was aware about the character and the film’s story trajectory every step of the way, as narrated by Anup.

Vikrant Rona, says Nirup, is a film that Anup had taken up as a challenge after their earlier project, Rajaratha, didn’t work the way they wanted; Anup was hell-bent on writing and presenting a better film. “When he wrote the character of Sanjeev Gambhira, he may have had me on mind, but had not decided on casting me. Once Sudeep came onboard, the plan to make Vikrant Rona as a pan-Indian film came about and the team discussed casting an actor from another industry for the role of Sanjeev Gambhira. When Sudeep then said that I should do it, I was quite thrilled, but it was also big responsibility, because they trusted me with the role and I knew I had to live up to their expectations,” Nirup was quoted as saying in an interview with an online publication.

The actor, who was last seen in Sheethal Shetty’s directorial debut Window Seat, adds that he was mighty thrilled at the opportunity to share screen space with Sudeep. As Sanjeev Gambhira, Nirup is a London-returned NRI, a travel writer, who is heading back home to meet his mother, which has been captured in the song Hey Fakira that was released recently. The film, says Nirup, is a complete Sudeep vehicle, wherein he plays an integral role.

Vikrant Rona, produced by Shalini and Manjunath Gowda for Shalini Artss, co-produced by Alankar Pandian of Invenio Origin, is slated for a July 28 theatrical release. The film has been converted to 3D for a more immersive theatrical experience and will be available in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam in India. The makers are looking at releasing it in a total of 14 languages, including an English version, across 55 countries globally.

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