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In the 10th year since his cinema debut, a Kannada actor-director delivered a banger of a movie that became a national sensation. Besides becoming the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, the action thriller also put the spotlight back on the industry, demonstrating its ability to produce aesthetically and technically superior films just as finely as high-octane action blockbusters like KGF. Interestingly, the movie featured the director himself in the lead role, and both his craft and performance received widespread acclaim, eventually earning him the National Film Award for Best Actor. For someone who once made a living supplying water cans, everything he has achieved in cinema must feel nothing short of a dream. And we are talking about none other than the multi-hyphenated Rishab Shetty and his film, Kantara (2022).
Now that he is gearing up for the release of the actioner’s highly anticipated prequel, Kantara: Chapter 1, all eyes are back on the actor-director to see what he has in store for the audience this time. Although he is a star now, Rishab’s journey to show business was anything but easy. Before making his debut with director Aravind Kaushik’s Tuglak (2012), featuring Rakshit Shetty in the lead role, Rishab Shetty (née Prashanth Shetty) completed a diploma in filmmaking, a path that unravelled before him as he was running a small business to survive.
“By the time I completed my graduation, I had saved some money from a few small businesses that I did during my college days. I also remembered Jaggesh sir’s interview and wanted to try the same route. One of my businesses was to supply mineral water cans. One random day, I was asked to supply water cans for an event in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru. The event was nothing but the inauguration of a film school and I enquired about all the course details immediately. It was a coincidence that I was sent there and that very day I joined the course,” he told The News Minute in a 2019 interview.
After making his acting debut in Tuglak (2012), Rishab Shetty appeared in a few small roles before breaking through with his performance in Rakshit Shetty’s Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014). He eventually started receiving larger roles. While he made his directorial debut with Ricky (2016), it did not perform as expected. Nonetheless, his next film, Kirik Party (2016), starring Rakshit Shetty and Rashmika Mandanna, became a critical and commercial success, thus establishing him as a strong director as well. While his performances in Bell Bottom (2019) and Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021) impressed many, he also left a significant mark with his third directorial venture, Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai (2018).
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