Kantara: Rishab Shetty Opens Up About Not Being The First Choice To Play Shiva, Reveals Who Was First Approached For The Film ( Photo Credit – Instagram ; A Still From Kantara )
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The 2022 Kannada superhit film Kantara has been attracting the attention of the audience and has been receiving stunning reviews from both fans and critics. Written and directed by Rishab Shetty, the movie features him as the lead actor essaying the roles of Kaadubettu Shiva and Shiva’s father. The film was released in theatres on September 30, 2022.
While viewers enjoy the action-thriller in theatres, Rishab made a surprising revelation about how the movie. He revealed that the film was first offered to the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar but he was unable to do it due to his prior work commitments.
According to Indian Express, Rishab Shetty recently interacted with the media in a press conference and revealed that when he narrated the script to the late Puneeth Rajkumar was quite excited about it. Continuing further, he mentioned that even though he wanted to explore different stories, he later asked Shetty to go ahead with Kantara without him due to his busy schedule.
Rishab Shetty said, “It all happened in a blink of an eye. Soon after I narrated the story to him, he got very excited about the project. He wanted to explore different stories. But, his other projects continued to keep him away from Kantara. One day, he called me and asked me to go ahead with the film without him. He told me that if I waited for him, I may not be able to do the film that year.”
Moreover, Rishab recalled how Puneeth Rajkumar enquired him about the project and asked him not to compromise on the vision of his film and added that he was eager to watch the film. “He enquired me about the project and asked me not to compromise on my vision for the film. I showed him a few still pictures from the shoot. He was very happy for me. And he told me he was eager to watch the film,” he added.
He even opened up about how he always wanted to play the role of Shiva himself, however, he thought about casting Puneeth a few months before Kantara went on floors. “I felt besides me, Appu sir will fit the role beautifully. Especially in the scenes of the buffalo race. But, I was particular about one thing. I wanted Appu sir to master the coastal Karnataka dialect. I was wondering whether he will allot so much time at such short notice,” Rishab Shetty revealed.
