Rishab Shetty’s third directorial, “Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shaale: Koduge Ramanna Rai” completed its 100-day run on November 30. The film, which was released on August 24, is one of Sandalwood’s biggest hits. Made on a budget of Rs 2 crores, the film has reportedly made ten times the budget in recovery from various sources, making it a huge hit with respect to return on investments.
Apart from the direction, Rishab Setty also produced the film. Even though Rishab’s “Kirik Party” was a blockbuster, it was difficult for him to find investors as this was a children’s film and many felt that it may not do well commercially. However, Rishab was confident of the film doing well and decided to produce it by enlisting the help of his close friends. He was helped by actor Pramod Shetty, who was also the executive producer of the film.
The film was not marketed much prior to its release. Two songs from the movie were released and became popular much before the film’s release. However, the turning point for the film was it’s trailer, which came out a week before the film’s release. The trailer made the film a hot topic in Gandhinagar. It overshadowed two other films- “Ondallla Eradalla” as well as “Life Jothe Ond Selfie”, which were released on same day. It got critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The number of shows were also increased from second day onwards and it ran to houseful boards in single screens as well as multiplexes.
The film is still running successfully and we can still see housefull board during the weekends. With this film, Rishab has shown that even a children’s film can be made a commercial success. We have seen many children’s films from other languages doing well at the box office, but none of them have become such a big hit. After the success of this film, Rishab has surely made it to the top directors list.
Rishab is now concentrating on his acting career. His “Bellbottom” is scheduled to release soon. He also has his production venture “Kathe Sangama”, scheduled for a release next year. The film has several short stories and is directed by new comers. Rishab is dedicating this film to the legendary director Puttanna Kannagal.
In a recent interview, Rishab revealed that he wants to direct big commercial films with big stars. Considering his success, many actors have epressed their wish to work with this now popular director.
Rishab has also confirmed that he will be directing Sudeep, and is expected to do so in two films, one which is a bilingual made in Kannada and Hindi. The bilingual film will reportedly have Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. Rishab is expected to officially make an announcement regarding these two films soon.
One thing is for sure, the audience of the Kannada film industry will now be waiting for Rishab Shetty’s next directorial.
