Raj B Shetty to reveal first look poster of next production; netizens wonder if it’s a new directorial

A new film from the house of Raj B Shetty’s Lighter Buddha Films is on the way and he had given absolutely no indication that anything was afoot. Much like his earlier production Toby, Raj has chosen to announce his new project once it was ready and is now all set to give audiences a first glimpse.

Earlier today, Raj took to social media stating that “A secret fest is ready to be served”, and attached an image that read, “Lighter Buddha Films has cooked something secretly! Serving the first look poster on June 21 at 4.05 pm”. Raj gave no other hints about his possible involvement in the project, which will be revealed with the first look anyway. His last directorial was Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye for Ramya’s production house.

A new production venture or directorial for Raj?

With Toby, which came out thereafter, Raj had handed over the reins to his associate Basil AL Chalakkal. Back then, he had mentioned that it will be a while before he returns to direction, as he was looking at focusing on writing a couple of scripts that would be developed by other team members. Raj had spoken about a comedy and a love story that were in the works, but it is not clear if the announcement tomorrow is for one of these films.

As an actor, meanwhile, Raj will next be seen in composer Arjun Janya’s directorial debut 45, in which he joins Shivarajkumar and Upendra. The film is said to be about the 45 days following a person’s death, with Upendra’s character on the hunt for Raj (his soul) and Shivarajkumar out to protect him. Arjun has said that the subject was developed after he lost his brother during the pandemic.

Raj is also part of Gentleman maker and Kaatera writer Jadeshaa K Hampi’s Landlord with Duniya Vijay. He is playing the antagonist in the film. The actor-filmmaker, who debuted in Malayalam cinema last year and did 3 films in quick succession, has done a film with Hindi filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, along with Pedro director Natesh Hegde. No further details are available about the project at the moment.