Thriller nights for Rishi

An engineer-turned-theatre and TV actor, Rishi is all set to grace the silverscreen as the male lead in Suni’s Operation Alamelamma. A popular face in Kannada serials, the lanky and handsome lad is kicked about playing Purmy in the fun flick. Ask him how the project happened and he says, “I did a Kannada serial called Anuroopa, and Suni Sir got to know about me. He told me about the character he wanted me to play and said that he was looking for someone who looked like a commoner. I was excited and could instantly connect with the script.” His character Purmy is a brand-obsessed vegetable auctioneer who gets embroiled in a kidnapping controversy. “The movie is a thriller, but the romantic track was inevitable thanks to Suni’s ability to create great love stories. The humour was not forced, and is in the form of situational comedy. It’s layered into the script as Suni himself is a witty man,” he adds.

Born in Bengaluru and brought up in Mysuru, Rishi did his engineering while also working as a radio jockey. He soon joined theatre groups and was taking to the stage to depict various characters. “But I also started working just to figure out what it feels like to be an engineer as I knew that once I get out and act, I’d never be able get that experience. I worked for a few months before quitting and then did a Hindi-English film called Software Hardware.” Soon, Rishi had his rendezvous with the small screen. “Although, I wasn’t interested initially, I realised that TV had a humungous reach. I assumed that I’d have to overact and that it may not fit into what I’d like to do, but thankfully it worked out,” adds Rishi.
The actor has another reason to rejoice as he’s just signed director Hemanth Rao’s Kavalu Daari, in which he will be playing a cop. Talking about the film, which is being co-produced by Puneeth Rajkumar, he says, “I’m really happy I’m doing it. I’d met Hemanth for one of his projects before, but it never took off. He went on to do Godhi Banna and I went on to do my work. When my film’s teaser released, Hemanth was looking to cast someone and he thought I suited the role. In fact, he’d told me earlier that he’d seen me in an officer’s role and if he happens to write such a character, he would cast me!”

Now that he’s making his way into cinema, what kind of roles does he want to play? “I’m a very selfish actor and want to explore a lot of roles. I am in talks with other directors, but I’m not going to finalise anything till Kavalu Daari is over,” he states.