Rishi's Rudhra Avatara

RISHI TALKS NEW ROLES, FATHERHOOD, AND THE ANTICIPATION SURROUNDING 'RUDHRA GARUDA PURANA'

- IKYATHA USHA YERASALA

His last outing on the big screen was Ramana Avatara, a few months ago and now, he is gearing up for the release of his upcoming bilingual film Rudhra Garuda Purana which is set to hit the screens on December 27th. Actor Rishi, who has played a range of characters so far, is now set to play a detective in RGP, which is going to be released in Kannada and Telugu. On the personal front, he is excited about becoming a father soon. In a freewheeling chat with Provoke, the skilled artiste gets candid about playing an aggressive cop, his behind-the-scenes aspirations and more...

Tell us about your film Rudhra Garuda Purana. Is it based on a real-life incident?

The director, Nandeesh KN, was very fascinated by a story that he came across. There was a flight that took off from Miami but didn't land anywhere. Apparently, 30 years later, a similar flight landed and there were a lot of conspiracy theories around it. He then came across certain stories in India and before he realised, he had a full-blown story in hand. Having worked on Puneeth Rajkumar's Prithvi before, he knew about the workings of the police department. There's something called the Horse and Band department in Mysore which is manned by the police department and the film focuses on my character Rudhra who gets demoted to that department. Rudhra is a cop who is idealistic and has his own sense of right and wrong. In the Horse and Band department, he barely has anything to do and gets really frustrated but then, he stumbles upon a case which is extremely mind-bending and that's what the film is about. As for the Garuda Purana, it is a book that talks about the types of sins and how each sin is punished. That's how Rudhra Garuda Purana came about.

You have already played a cop in Kavaludaari. What's different this time around?