After delivering a hit in his very first film, Rishi has two exciting projects to look forward to — Hemanth Rao’s Kavaludaari and an untitled Kannada film, which is being co-produced by Tamil superstar Dhanush. In a tete-e-tete with us, the Operation Alamelamma actor gets talking to us about his work and more..
Talking about the much-awaited Kavaludaari, which is Puneeth Rajkumar’s home production, Rishi says, “The shoot has been completed and I’m currently shooting for my third film — an untitled flick co-produced and directed by Jacob Verghese and Dhanush. The latter is an entertainer in which I play a guy whose mother wants him to be a cop, but he wants to be something else. It’s also a love story with a lot of humour.”
As for Kavaludaari, which is being directed by Hemanth Rao (of Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu fame) in which he plays a cop, the teaser is expected to be out by the end of this month. “I play a traffic inspector who’s not too happy with the post as he wants to an officer who deals with criminals and catch the bad guys. Coincidentally, he bumps into this particular case and the film shows how this case takes him forward,” says Rishi.
The film also sees veteran Anant Nag play a retired police officer. “He becomes crucial to the story. The movie is a thriller with a lot of human drama. Working with Hemanth was an absolute delight and primarily because he’s written the script himself, he has a lot of clarity in what he’s trying to do. It’s always wonderful to work with someone like that. He’s very specific and knows exactly what he wants, so it becomes a challenge for me as an actor to deliver according to the need. When you have the main person being so clear, the film becomes clear to the audience. He’s a man with complete command and is very passionate about his cinema,” shares Rishi.
On the awards front, the actor has been nominated for a SIIMA for his performance in his debut Operation Alamelamma. But when it comes to awards, Rishi, breaks into a smile and says, “As an actor, even before I came into the industry, I clearly told myself that there maybe times when I might get something, but it should never put me down. I’m always constantly looking at bettering myself and this is the process I want to involve myself in. I genuinely feel disconnected with awards — if I get them, I feel great that someone’s appreciated me, but if not, it doesn’t affect me.”
Talk veers towards the ooru he grew up in - Mysuru and Rishi reveals that he did his entire education there. “We have a house in Mysuru, but since both my sister (RJ Nethra) and
I work here, my parents too have shifted to Bengaluru. But I do keep going there for my shoots — it’s always a pleasure to go back to Mysuru,” he smiles.
