Ever since Shivarajkumar announced that he was returning to play Bhairathi Ranagal, his character from Mufti, in a prequel, he has often been quoted as saying that he had some misgivings about doing the role initially. Mufti was a Sriimurali vehicle and Shivarajkumar was meant to do a pivotal character, who’d appear only in the second half. The character was Ranagal, a feared gangster, who is revered by the people of Ronapura – a role with shades of grey, that Shivarajkumar was a tad unsure about.

Shivarajkumar's change in Mufti

It now turns out that Ranagal’s criminal status was not the only issue. Director Narthan’s initial log line for the character had him as a married man with a wife and son, who then kills his own son, which, Shivarajkumar felt, audiences were not ready to accept. Speaking to Kairam Vaashi during the promotions of Bhairathi Ranagal, which releases on November 15, Shivarajkumar said that he asked Narthan to change the wife’s character to sister and the person who is slain by Ranagal as her husband. “Sister is a blood relative, but her husband is not,” said Shivarajkumar, explaining the rationale behind the change.

In Bhairathi Ranagal, the brother-sister equation will be a major element, with Chaya Singh returning to play Vedavathi Ranagal. This time around, Ranagal is shown to have a life partner, with Rukmini Vasanth playing his spouse. Considering that she is not in Mufti and not even referenced, Bhairathi Ranagal will explore what becomes of her.

Shivarajkumar also said that a sequel to Mufti is also in the works. The initial plan was to make Bhairathi Ranagal both a prequel and sequel, but since it is only 2 hours and 20 minutes in run-time, the sequel will likely be another film. It will delve into what becomes of Ranagal after his jail sentence.

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