Harshavardhini Ranya (born 28 May 1993), known professionally as Ranya Rao, is an Indian actress and model, who appears in Kannada films. She made her debut with the 2014 Kannada film, ''

Maanikya ''Maanikya'' ( ''The Ruby'') is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Sudeepa. The Film stars Sudeep and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, alongside Ranya, V. Ravichandran and P. Ravi Shankar. The music was composed by Arjun J ...

''.

Early life

Harshavardhini Golden Ranya was born on 28 May 1993. She originally hails from the

Chikmagalur district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru () is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. It was called Kadur (''Cuddoor'') district till 1947. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikm ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India. After completing her schooling in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Rao pursued acting with accreditation in acting.

Career

Rao was first signed by actor and director

Sudeepa Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Kichcha Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer and television presenter, who primarily works in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tami ...

in April 2014 for his directorial

Kannada film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

, ''

''. She was cast as Manasa 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 ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

'' 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 Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...

, ''

Wagah Wagah (; ; ), also spelled Wagha or Wahga, is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal a ...

'' She was cast opposite

Vikram Prabhu Vikram Prabhu is an Indian actor working in Tamil language films who made his debut in Prabhu Solomon's ''Kumki (film), Kumki'' (2012). He also played the protagonist in ''Ivan Veramathiri'' (2013) and ''Vellaikaara Durai'' (2014). He is the so ...

, her first as a female lead. In her first release of 2017, a comedy '' Pataki'', in Kannada, she played a journalist Sangeetha, the love interest of a police officer played by

Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

2025 gold-smuggling case

On 3 March 2025, Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of Karnataka’s Director General of Police, K. Ramachandra Rao, was arrested by the

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is the apex anti-smuggling intelligence, investigations and operations agency in India. The Directorate is run by officers from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) who are posted ...

(DRI). Rao was intercepted at Bengaluru airport after arriving on Emirates flight EK 566 from

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. While attempting to pass through the green channel at the airport, the actor claimed that she was not carrying any dutiable goods, gold, or contraband, but a metal detector alerted officers to concealed items. Upon inspection, Rao was found to have wrapped 14.2 kg of 24-karat gold around her waist and calves, with additional pieces hidden in her shoes and pockets. The gold was valued at over ₹12.56 crore. The DRI had been monitoring her due to her frequent travels, including 27 trips to Dubai in six months prior to her arrest. She initially claimed these trips were for business and photography purposes. The DRI revealed that the gold smuggling operation involved a larger syndicate and that Rao had received assistance from a State Protocol Officer, who was also part of the racket. Rao was apprehended just before exiting the airport. According to DRI officials, Ranya Rao made 52 trips to Dubai between 2023 and March 2025. She was sent to

Bangalore Central Prison Central Prison, Bengaluru (also called Bengaluru Central Jail and Parappana Agrahara Central Prison) is the largest prison in the Indian state of Karnataka. Established in 1997, it became the central prison of Bengaluru in 2000 when the old jail, ...

for 14 days of judicial custody under the 1962 Customs Act. During questioning, Rao admitted to smuggling gold for the first time. She collected the gold at Dubai Airport from an unidentified man in a white gown, concealed it on her body using adhesive tape, and hid some in her shoes and pockets. Rao confessed to using YouTube videos to plan the smuggling. A search of her Bengaluru home uncovered ₹2.06 crore in gold jewelry and ₹2.67 crore in cash. Rao also held a UAE Resident Identity Card, and the DRI was investigating

hawala Hawala or hewala ( , meaning ''transfer'' or sometimes ''trust''), originating in India as havala (), also known as in Persian, and or in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a hug ...

money transfers related to her activities.

Bail

Economic Offences Court in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

on May 20, 2025 granted default bail to Ranya Rao and co-accused Tarun Kondaraju but Ranya Rao cannot be released because of the case registered against her under the stringent Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974. She is currently lodged at the Bengaluru Central Prison along with two others — Tarun Raju and Sahil Sakaria Jain — who have also been booked under the COFEPOSA Act. They both were granted bail on two sureties each and ₹2 lakh bond. The court also imposed strict conditions — They cannot leave the country and must not commit a similar crime. The court issued a stern warning, noting that any breach of these conditions would lead to the cancellation of their bail.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Ranya Living people 1993 births Indian film actresses Actresses from Karnataka People from Chikmagalur Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Indian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of India 21st-century Indian actresses