The Kannada movie Kantara has taken the country’s pop cultural scene by storm. It is one of the biggest success stories of Indian cinema in 2022. And it has put the multifaceted talent of Rishab Shetty on the national map. But, did you know, late movie icon Puneeth Rajkumar was offered Rishab’s sensational character Shiva in Kantara?
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Fresh off the success of Bell Bottom, Rishab wanted to mount Rudraprayag movie. Just days before the shoot, the Covid outbreak brought the world to a standstill. Rudraprayag project was shelved and Rishab went away to his native village along with his wife and child, seeking safety from the novel virus. During that time, Rishab fleshed out the Kantara story.
“I had created the elements in Kantara when I was in college. Like the issues of the villages, Kamala or hunting — these elements were already in place. During the lockdown, I developed the story. As I kept discussing it with my friends, the story began to evolve into something bigger than I had imagined,” Rishab recalled earlier while talking with Masth Cinema YouTube channel.
Rishab initially wanted to play Shiva himself in Kantara. Just a couple of months before taking the production to the floor, seemingly to increase the scale and scope of the project, Rishab proposes Puneeth’s name to one of his colleagues. “I felt besides me, Appu sir will fit the role beautifully. Especially in the scenes of the buffalo race. It’s an action-packed scene. 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 in such a short span,” Rishab revealed.
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Puneeth at the time had committed to a series of movies, including Hombale Films’ Dvitva. When Vijay Kirgandur approached Puneeth with his film, he was excited and was willing to learn the dialect for the movie.
“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,” Rishab recalled.
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After completing the first schedule of Kantara, Rishab attended Bajarangi 2 event, which happened two days before Puneeth’s untimely death. “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,” Rishab said.
On October 29, Puneeth passed away due to cardiac arrest. On Tuesday, coinciding with the celebration of Kannada Rajyotsava, the Karnataka government posthumously conferred the state’s highest civilian award Karnataka Ratna to Puneeth. The event, which took place in Bengaluru, was attended by superstars Rajinikanth and Jr NTR.
