Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival Awards 2023 happened on February 20th in Mumbai. Along with a few Bollywood stars like Rekha, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, South stars also attended the red carpet event. At the awards ceremony, Kannada actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty who rose to pan-India stardom with September 2022 released Kantara won the award. Reportedly, he was given the Most Promising Actor at the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for his performance in the film.
Overwhelmed with the presentation, the actor took to social media to share a thank you note.”Honored to add feathers to this cap. I cannot express my gratitude for bestowing the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award upon me. I am grateful to Hombale Films and Vijay Kirangandur sir for trusting me and giving me an opportunity. I cannot wait to make more and better films together”.
Rishab Shetty also added, “This would have been impossible without our Kantara team and technicians who supported this small dream of mine, and the pillar of my life Pragathi Shetty”. As a conclusion, Rishab Shetty wrote: “I dedicate this award to our Daiva Nartakaru, People of Karnataka, Power star Puneeth Rajkumar and Legendary Bhagavan sir. Thank you for all your blessings and love”.
Released in September 2022, Kantara set in a devotional backdrop went on to become a blockbuster success. Bankrolled by Hombale Films, the film’s Telugu and Hindi dubbed versions did equally well at the box office. Made with a tight budget of close to Rs 15 crore, Kantara went on to collect more than Rs 400 crore gross( including all released versions). Later, news also came out that the makers are planning to make a sequel to the film.
During the grand 100-day celebrations of Kantara, Rishab Shetty revealed that his team is currently working on the script of the Kantara prequel. Reportedly, glamorous Bollywood beauty Urvashi Rautela is locked as the female lead in the Kantara prequel. An official announcement regarding the same is likely to be out soon. If everything goes smoothly, the prequel for Kantara will go on the floors in the summer.
