Rishab Shetty reacts to Rajinikanth in Kantara prequel rumour: This is a great story

When Tamil superstar Rajinikanth met up with Kantara maker Rishab Shetty in Chennai, he spent an hour with the Kannada filmmaker-actor discussing the film that he’d described as a masterpiece, one that comes along once every 50 years or so. After watching Kantara, Rajinikanth had taken to social media to write, “The unknown is more than the known” no one could have said this better in cinema than @hombalefilms. #KantaraMovie you gave me goosebumps. @shetty_rishab Rishab hats off to you as a writer, director and actor. Congrats to the whole cast and crew of this masterpiece in indian cinema.”

Back then, no one read too much into this meeting, as pretty much everyone across the country was singing Kantara’s praise. However, soon enough, it was revealed that Rishab was not done with Kantara and was planning another film in the series. The question then was whether it would be a prequel or sequel, as the film ended with the possibility of both options. There was still no discussion about the possible cast in the next instalment of Kantara. But then, on Rajinikanth’s birthday, Hombale Films sent out a wish on its official social media handles, which opened the floodgates of rumours and speculation.

Hombale Films is known to post birthday wishes for actors and technicians associated with their productions, so netizens said that the Tamil superstar was set to return to Kannada cinema with Kantara 2. The buzz was that Rajinikanth would play an older version of Rishab’s character Shiva’s father’s role. In Kantara, Rishab had played both father and son, given that the former disappears when Shiva is still a young lad.

However, at a recent interaction with the Bengaluru media, Rishab was quizzed about this to which the filmmaker-actor had a hearty laugh, saying “Olle story maadidira… olle story.” While Rishab pooh-poohed the rumour surrounding Rajinikanth and Kantara 2, social media is still abuzz with discussions surrounding a possible project produced by Hombale Films with the veteran actor in the lead. Could Rajinikanth, who was last seen in Kannada in the early 80s, be headed here soon? Only time and Hombale Films can tell.