After his impressive performances in 'Operation Alamelamma' and ‘Kavaludari’, the actor has three interesting projects releasing this year.
kannada actor Rishi has three interesting projects lined up for release this year. (Supplied)
An engineer by qualification, Monish Nagaraj took up acting for his sheer interest in it and eventually came to be popularly known by his screen name “Rishi”.
After a short stint in theatres, he ventured into television and later made it big in movies with Operation Alamelamma and Kavaludari, among others.
In an exclusive interview with South First, actor Rishi talks about his interesting line-up of projects, including a web series that is primarily made in Telugu and dubbed in multiple languages, and much more.
“Ever since Operation Alamelamma and Kavaludari, I have been getting good projects with performance-oriented roles and I’m very fortunate in that way. However, I never went looking for work in other languages. Hence, I was surprised when I got a call for a pan-India web series produced by Disney+ Hotstar,” Rishi said.
Actor Monish Nagaraj aka Rishi. (Supplied)
He stated that the makers of the web series Shaitan (Devil) approached him after being impressed by his work in his Kannada films.
Talking about the Telugu project, Rishi noted that he was thrilled after hearing the script of Shaitan.
“It is fantastic and something which I haven’t performed until now. My role is completely in contrast; it has grey shades. The character does a lot of bad things in life but with a twist to it for a good reason. It is about a personality who comes from the lower strata of society.”
Moreover, it is refreshing. The crime drama written and directed by Maahi Raghav has all the good elements for an exciting watch. Being a pan-Indian project, Shaitan also features actors from other industries, Rishi said.
His other venture is titled Ramana Avatara and it is not mythological but a modern-day take on the epic with a touch of humour. Though it is an out-and-out entertainment, it has a deeper meaning to it.
Actor Rishi. (Supplied)
“A lot many have been migrating from smaller towns to bigger ones for various reasons — some for better work opportunities and a few for a modern way of life and so on. It is the crux of this film and the character gentleman Rama is the focal point in it,” Rishi said.
What happens when life hits him hard and he is shaken up to the core is what the whole entertainment directed by Vikas Pampapathy is about.
Rishi is cast alongside Arun Sagar, Pranita Subhash and Shubhra Ayyappa in the film. The shooting is over and the post-production works are in full swing.
Ramana Avatara is expected to hit the screens in the coming months.
While his other most anticipated project Sakala Kala Vallabha directed by Jacob Verghese is also in its next stage, he is currently busy shooting for a yet-to-be-titled project.
Rishi is sharing the screen space with Prakash Belwadi in this fun-travel venture. The film is expected to hit the screens in 2023.
Actor Monish Nagaraj aka Rishi. (Supplied)
For someone like Rishi who started his acting career with television, the actor points out that there is no luxury of time while working on a web series when compared to movies.
He believes that for an actor, there isn’t much of a difference when it comes to performances but there are slight changes when it comes to making processes and meeting deadlines.
“Since I worked in TV where banking of episodes is done religiously, working for a web series requires twice the amount of time than movies,” he added.
The OTT production house meticulously plans the shooting with a race against the release date.
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