Ranya Rao

Ranya Rao (born c. 1993) is an Indian actress and model who appears in South Indian films. She made her debut with the 2014 Kannada film, Maanikya.

Early life

Ranya Rao originally hails from the Chikmagalur district of the Indian state of Karnataka. After completing her schooling in Kodagu, she began pursuing her graduation in engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore. Eager to pursue a career in acting, she dropped out and began training at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute in Mumbai. Around this time, she started out as a model.

Career

Rao was first signed by actor and director Sudeep in April 2014 for his directorial Kannada film, Maanikya. She was cast as Varalakshmi in a supporting role, portraying a girl belonging to a rich Indian family and Sudeep's love interest. Her performance received mixed reviews from critics. A. Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express wrote, "Both Ranya and Varalaxmi play their parts well but fail to impress."

In June 2015, Rao signed her second film and first Tamil film, Wagah. She is cast opposite Vikram Prabhu, and is her first film as a female lead. Around the same time, she also signed her second Kannada film Pataki and is cast opposite Ganesh.

Ranya

Ranya (Kurdish: Ranya‎, Arabic: رانية‎) is a town located in Iraqi Kurdistan, 130 kilometres (81 mi) northwest of Sulaymaniyah. The population of this city was involved in the revolutionary movement of Kurdish people from the war against the British Empire invasion during Şêx Mehmud's government, the Eylûl revolution, and the uprising which broke out in this city on 5 March 1991. Consequently, it acquired the name of 'the gate of uprising'. The city includes a number of tourist sites, notably the shore of the Derbendi, the area around the Reşemêrg spring, the Kwerakani spring which runs from the Central mosque through Ranyae's main bazaar Girdedême hill and Bêtwate, the villages in the Dola Raqa valley. Ranya is surrounded by three mountain ranges, the Kewarash, the Hajila and the Asos. Lake Dukan, created by the construction of a hydro-electric dam, is near the town. Ranya neighbourhoods include Qelat, Reşemêrg, Gilîincan, Sera, Rizgarî, Raperîn, Andazyaran, Azadî 1, Azadî 2, Kêwereş, Qule،Mamostayan, Nawroz, and Fermanberan. The first known newspaper published in Ranya appeared in 1942 under the name of Blêse (flame).

Maanikya

Maanikya (English: The Ruby; Kannada: ಮಾಣಿಕ್ಯ) is a 2014 Indian Kannada action drama film directed by Sudeep featuring Sudeep, V. Ravichandran, Varalaxmi Sharathkumar and Ranya Rao in the lead roles. The film is a remake of 2013 Telugu film Mirchi. Maanikya is the costliest film ever made in Kannada cinema and released on 1 May 2014. Upon its release, Maanikya got an excellent response from the critics and audience, and had a decent opening at the box office. Maanikya was released in maximum number of screens and has had the maximum number of audience for a new release in the opening weekend ever. A record 0.8 million tickets were sold on the first day for the film. Maanikya has been declared a blockbuster at the box office and went on to become the highest grossing Kannada movie of all time, beating the record of Kraanthiveera Sangolli Raayanna. The satellite rights of the movie were sold for a record-breaking price as well. The film has also been dubbed into Hindi as Manikya.

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