Who is Ranya Rao? South Indian actress, daughter of DGP, arrested at Bengaluru Airport for alleged gold-smuggling

South Indian actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on the night of March 3 on charges of gold smuggling. Officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detained her. 

Newsagency ANI reported that the actress, who made her debut with Sudeep, is accused of possessing 14.8 kg of gold. As per present gold rates, the price of the gold could be around ₹13 crore.

Actress Ranya Rao was presented before a judge on March 4 evening and sent to 14-day judicial custody. A special court for financial offences issued the order. Before custody, she underwent a medical check-up at Bowring Hospital, as per ANI. Officials stated that Ranya claimed she was travelling to Dubai for business purposes.

The Delhi DRI team had intel on Ranya’s alleged smuggling activities. Acting on this, officers reached Bengaluru Airport two hours before her arrival on March 3. She landed on an Emirates flight from Dubai and was detained around 7 PM.

Who is Ranya Rao?

As per media reports, Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, the Director General of Police of Karnataka State Police Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

Rao made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film Maanikya, directed by Sudeep. She played a supporting role as Manasa, a wealthy girl and Sudeep’s love interest. Her performance received mixed reviews.

Ranya Rao got her role in Maanikya after her mother and well-wishers shared her portfolio with casting coordinators. Sudeep saw her pictures and invited her for a screen test, where she delivered a few dialogues, the actress told The Times of India after the movie ran for 100 days at the box office.

The next day, he called her to his office and initially told her she wasn’t selected, but she confidently guessed otherwise. Impressed, Sudeep confirmed her selection.

In 2015, she signed her first Tamil film Wagah, starring opposite Vikram Prabhu, marking her debut as a female lead.

In 2017, she appeared in the Kannada comedy Pataki, playing Sangeetha, a journalist and the love interest of Ganesh’s police officer character.