Kantara maker Rishab Shetty to direct another film before the next jungle adventure, Rudraprayag

In early 2020, Kannada actor-director was ready to begin work on his next directorial after the critically acclaimed Sarkari Hiriya Prathmika Shaale: Kasaragode. Called Rudraprayag, this tale, set in the forests of North Karnataka (Belagavi, to be precise), was to have veteran actor Anant Nag in the lead.

But then, when the pandemic struck, Rishab upped and left to Mangaluru with his family, putting the film on hold. While he did return to work shortly after with the lockdown film Hero, Rishab knew that he could not risk bringing Anant Nag to a film set until after vaccinations were easily available and the pandemic abated a bit. Subsequently, he kicked off another project, Kantara, instead, which he wound up in just about a year and released in theatres too, to overwhelming positive response.

Interestingly, Rishab is also on the list of filmmakers who have projects lined up with Century Star Shiva Rajkumar. An untitled film had been confirmed on the actor’s birthday in July. The question now is, what will Rishab do next. As an actor, he is committed to Bachelor Party, which is currently in production. He’s also got to do Bell Bottom 2 with Jayathirtha.

Rishab, who is currently touring the country to promote Kantara, was recently asked about the status of Rudraprayag. Speaking to an online Kannada portal, he said. “Rudraprayag is currently on hold. I will make another film before resuming work on it, because Rudraprayag is also set in a forest in Belagavi. If I do two back-to-back jungle tales, audiences will wonder what my obsession with that is,” said Rishab.

Shiva Rajkumar, who has wound up work on his home production Vedha, which is releasing this December, has started shooting for actor-director MG Srinivas’ Ghost. While Rishab has also said that he is looking at taking a long break before planning his next, it remains to be seen if the project with the Century Star is his next agenda. Over to you, Rishab!