Rishabh Shetty, till two years ago this name was known only in the South film industry, but now the whole country knows him. The reason is ‘Kantara’ for which Rishabh has received the Best Actor Award. Kantara, made in just Rs 16 crore, earned around 415 crore worldwide.
Rishabh is the writer, director and actor of ‘Kantara’. Kantara brought Rishabh, who has directed only 6 films, to the top of the list of directors.
All this was not easy for Rishabh. He had to struggle for nearly 20 years to achieve success. Sometimes he sold water bottles and cans to make a living and sometimes he did odd jobs in hotels. He entered films as a spotboy.
After a long struggle, he got success in the true sense in 2022 and today he is at the heights.
At the age of 6, I dreamt of becoming an actor
On July 7, 1983, Bhaskar Shetty and Lakshmi Shetty were blessed with a son named Prashant in Kandapura, Udupi, Karnataka. This Prashant later came to be known as Rishabh Shetty. Rishabh received his schooling in a small village called Kandapura.
She developed an interest in dance and acting at the age of 6. Then she got admission to Vijaya College, Bangalore to study B.Com.
Here too, Rishabh was more interested in theatre plays. He used to perform in Yakshagana (traditional theatre form) where he got a lot of appreciation for this talent. Inspired by this appreciation, Rishabh thought of making a career in acting.
He used to make a living by selling water bottles
Due to his non-filmy background, Rishabh had no idea about the film world, so after a lot of research, he decided to pursue a diploma in film direction along with his studies. Rishabh took admission in the Government Film and TV Institute, Bangalore.
Rishabh, who belongs to a middle class family, did not want to trouble his parents for his studies and living, so he did many small jobs. He worked selling water bottles and cans.
After this, he did a small job in a hotel. He also tried his hand in real estate but his mind was only set on acting. This was the reason that after leaving all the work and doing a diploma in film direction, Rishabh decided to enter the film industry.
Rishabh was a spotboy in films
Rishabh started as a spotboy in a film. He was also a clap boy in some films. In 2006, he got a chance to work as an assistant director in the Kannada film Cyanide. The director of this film was M.R. Ramesh. Rishabh was impressed by M.R. Ramesh’s dedication as a director on the set.
Rishabh had said about his struggling phase, ‘I wanted to become an actor, but I was not getting any chance in the industry. I had neither any contacts nor any ideas. I once read about a Kannada actor who started as an assistant director and became a hero after doing side roles.
Then I felt that this path would be right for people like us. After studies, I did a short term course in filmmaking and started working as an assistant director and after 6-7 years, I turned to acting.
Rishabh had told in an interview that when he was assisting A.M.R Ramesh for the film ‘Cyanide’, he was offered the role of a supporting actor in the same film. After this, he suppressed his desire of film direction for acting.