It’s taken a decade playing the lead in nine films for Rakshit Shetty to find a success formula. His debut production under Paramvah Studios, Kirik Party, made him a star overnight. He played the lead in it. “Kirik Party initially landed in many producers’ laps, but nobody believed in us and they were not confident of it being a sure short project.
A couple of them said yes, but backed out at the last minute. I finally got an investor from Dubai who trusted my work. When I think of the producers who rejected this back then, I think of all the money they could have made through this film,” he says.
Rakshit, who wrote the script, never expected to turn producer so soon. “Paramvah Studio was on my mind, but it was something I wanted to start 10 years down the line after establishing myself as an actor and a director,” he says.
The film made 10 times the investment; it ran for 150 days and is still showing in a few theatres across Karnataka. The film also found Rakshit his life partner in Rashmika Mandanna; she debuted with Kirik Party and they got engaged on July 3.
The massive success of the movie has made the filmmaker cautious about starting his next project. Avane Sriman Narayana, which marks the debut of editor Sachin, will go on floors only by August-end.
Many actors want to deliver hits, but the rare few get to be stars. With Kirik Party, Rakshit has won that tag. “Every Friday a star is made, and it lasts for that day. Behind that Friday there’s one year of hard work of the whole team.
As an actor, I’ve learnt to always start from zero and work as if every movie if your first, irrespective of how it’ll do. It’s not about the box office, your next film matters,” says Rakshit.
Rakshit will turn distributor with producer Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah with Hulliraya. “Since Kirik Party was a huge success, we have good money in our production house. Even if I lose money, I’ve earned enough. I want to support independent directors,” says Rakshit.
