Kannada actor and filmmaker Rishab Shetty, whose latest film Kantara has seen huge success even in the Telugu states, is set to work on a film with one of Tollywood’s top producer Allu Aravind. The news was announced on Wednesday, October 19, at a success meet held for the Telugu dubbed version of Kantara at Prasad Labs in Hyderabad. Within five days of its release, the Telugu version of Kantara has reportedly collected over Rs 20 crore and has become an big hit at the Tollywood box office. Kantara is a Kannada film, written and directed by Rishab Shetty who also played the lead role. It was released in the Telugu states by Allu Aravind’s Geetha Arts
Set in a fictional village in Dakshina Kannada, Kantara depicts the conflict between a Kambala (an annual buffalo race) champion played by Rishab, and an upright Forest Range officer Murali , played by Kishore. Speaking at the success meet, Rishab said that his team hadn't anticipated such a huge reception beyond Karnataka and across the country. "It all happened suddenly. Initially, the movie was only released in Kannada with subtitles. But later (after its wide success), we finished the dubbing within two weeks and released it in Telugu," he said. He further said that although they had thought of Kantara as a Kannada film, the audiences have made it into a pan-India film with their love. The actor refused to confirm if a sequel to Kantara is in the works.
Meanwhile, Allu Aravind also spoke at the meet and showered praise on Kantara. "I usually refrain from buying dubbed films from other languages. But when I saw Kantara, I immediately connected with it and thought the audience would also feel the same way. I'm very impressed with Rishab Shetty’s acting. I even wondered and asked him how he managed to dub for the climax scenes and whether his throat was alright,” Allu Aravind said. He further announced that Rishab Shetty had agreed to work on a film with his production banner Geetha Arts.