Rakshit Shetty

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rakshit Shetty

• Rakshit Shetty is an Indian actor, film producer, writer, and filmmaker who works in the Kannada film industry. He has achieved notable recognition, earning one National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South, two Karnataka State Film Awards, and five SIIMA Awards. He is well-known for playing Richard Anthony aka Richi in the Kannada film Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014). Apart from that, he is also known for starring in the Kannada films Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2015), Kirik Party (2016), Avane Srimannarayana (2019), and 777 Charlie (2021). He runs his own production and distribution company named Paramvah Studios.

• He spent his childhood in Udupi and Mangaluru in Karnataka.

  

• Ever since he was a child, he dreamed of becoming an actor. His big brother, who used to buy film magazines, would share exciting stories about actors, like how they got to wear fancy clothes in song scenes and sometimes even kept them. Rakshit loved dressing up as a kid, and the concept of bringing home an entire collection of clothes fascinated him.

• He got into acting during third grade when he participated in a school play with his elder sister.

• As he grew up, he enjoyed not only acting but also writing and directing plays, convincing his friends to act in them.

• Rakshit grew up in an extended family and often visited both his grandparents because they lived close by. Remembering the same in an interview, he said,
  

  My siblings and I used to walk to their houses. The journey was picturesque. We would pick berries on the way. Festivals were a treat, and summer vacations meant the entire family from across the country would come together.”

• Rakshit’s maternal uncle Prakash was involved in theatre and aspired to build a career in the film industry. When Rakshit was a kid, Prakash and Rakshit’s mother encouraged him to participate in different competitions, such as fancy dress.

• After completing Class 7, Rakshit shifted to an English-medium high school and completed his Pre-University course at MGM College, Kunjibettu, Udupi. His favourite subjects were Mathematics and Physics, leading him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications engineering.

• Initially, he commuted to college as a day scholar before eventually moving into a hostel.

• Rakshit was a mischievous student and often found himself in trouble. However, during his first year, he held the position of batch representative, granting him privileges that other students didn’t have.

• Although he didn’t undergo any formal training in filmmaking, he passionately studied scriptwriting, following the works of various filmmakers. He avidly followed directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Shankar Nag, and Anurag Kashyap, reading about them and watching interviews to grasp the intricacies of the craft. In an interview, he talked about his favourite director Quentin Tarantino and said,
  

  If you watch Tarantino’s films, you can learn a lot. Like in his Pulp Fiction , there is a scene which I still remember — a character opens a briefcase and just light comes out of it. Tarantino never shows what’s in there and leaves the interpretation to the audience. That somehow stuck in my head.”

• In 2006, after finishing college, he worked in Bengaluru as an IT professional for two years.

• At the same time, he began creating short films and interacting with filmmakers and theatre artists, venturing into the Kannada entertainment industry.

• In an interview, he talked about the beginning of his filmmaking career and said,
  

  I started writing and directing because I wanted to be an actor. When I came into the industry, the kind of films being churned out were definitely not what I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to make films that I would be proud of 20 years down the line. That was the idea with which I got into filmmaking.”

• While working in the IT industry, he began creating short films. Sometimes, he would borrow money from friends for production. He was in the process of making a film called “Confessions of a Dustbin” when he secured the role of Richard Anthony aka “Richi” in the critically acclaimed romantic comedy film Simple Agi Ondh Love Story (2013).

  

• In 2013, he came into the spotlight with the critically acclaimed romantic comedy film Simple Agi Ondh Love Story in which he played the lead role of Kushal. The film went on to become a major box-office success.

• In 2012, he appeared in the film Tuglak (2012) in which he played the role of an angry young man named Raaghu.

• In 2014, he rose to popularity with the neo-noir gangster film Ulidavaru Kandanthe in which he played the role of Richard Anthony aka “Richi.” The film was also written and directed by Rakshit Shetty. It is the first film in Kannada to be shot entirely in sync with sound technology. A cult classic, Ulidavaru Kandanthe was applauded for its representation of Tulu Nadu and its people. It earned Shetty prestigious awards like the Karnataka State Award for Best Debutant Director and the Filmfare Awards South in the Best Film category.

• Although he had written the script for Ulidavaru Kandanthe before Confessions of a Dustbin, he set it aside initially. When Suvin Cinemas expressed interest in producing the film, Shetty decided to proceed with it.

• He played the role of Kubera, a con artist who sells the idea of vastu, in the satirical comedy film Vaastu Prakaara (2015).

• He gained immense popularity with the romantic comedy film Kirik Party (2016) in which he played the role of a mischievous engineering student named Karna.

• He played the title role in the crime thriller film Ricky (2016), Rishab Shetty‘s directorial debut.

• Shetty played the lead role of Shiva V. Rao in the drama film Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016). The film is about Venkob Rao, an ordinary middle-class individual struggling with Alzheimer’s who goes missing, and his son, Shiva, a career-driven professional who is forced to pause his hectic life to search for his father.

  

• In 2017, Rakshit Shetty and actress Rashmika Mandanna got engaged in a private ceremony held in Rashmika’s hometown of Virajpet, Karnataka. Their relationship began while working on the film Kirik Party (2016). Unfortunately, the couple decided to end their engagement in September 2018 due to reported compatibility issues.

• In 2019, Shetty appeared in the western fantasy adventure comedy film Avane Srimannarayana in which he played the lead role of Inspector Narayana.

• He starred in the adventure drama film 777 Charlie (2022) in which he played the role of Dharmaraj Dattana or Dharma, a loner who comes across a pup named Charlie who changes his perspective towards life. The shooting process of this film took more than five years.

  

• He played the role of Manu in the romantic drama film series Sapta Saagaradaache Ello (2023). He is also the producer of the film. In the film, Manu and Priya, both coming from middle-class families, develop a romantic relationship. However, when Manu ends up in jail due to certain circumstances, it puts their relationship in trouble.

  

• Other Kannada films produced by Shetty include Bheemasena Nalamaharaja (2020), Sakutumba Sametha (2022), and Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare (2022).

• During an interview, Rakshit shared that he had a particular fondness for the number six and that numbers divisible by three were lucky for him. ^[7]The Times of India He also said,
  

  However you add up my date of birth (June 6, 1983), the result is either three, six or nine…The attraction towards these numbers is more psychological. I haven’t asked for special numbers for my car or phone, but when I was presented the options, I chose those that added up to a multiple of three. I even keep the stereo volume and air conditioner temperature in my car at, say, 21 or 24 — multiples of three”

  Rakshit has been following this habit since he was a child. When he was young, the actor used to count the bites it took to eat things like a bun and used to set a target to finish it in six or nine bites (which are multiples of three). Rakshit believes that this behaviour originated from a desire to keep his active mind occupied.

• Rakshit also has a ‘book of dreams’ and holds the belief that anything he records in it eventually comes true. ^[8]The Times of India

• In 2019, he participated in the Bunts Premiere League (BPL) held at the Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management ground in Adyar, Mangaluru.

• In 2021, several Sandalwood actors and individuals proficient in the native Tulu language, such as Pruthvi Ambaar and Rakshit Shetty, utilized social media to advocate for the inclusion of Tulu in the official list of Indian languages. Shetty tweeted,
  

  The dance, speech and rituals of the Tulu people are part of the cultural pride of Karnataka. Let us all be united in this effort to give due respect to Tulu. May this long-standing request be accepted. Let Tulu language be official.”

• The characters in the film “Ulidavaru Kandanthe” (2014) were inspired by Rakshit Shetty’s childhood observations. Even the character he played in the film, Richie, was drawn from someone he knew. While talking about the same in an interview, he said,
  

  I had also heard legendary underworld stories. It is a known fact that Upudi and Mangaluru are connected with the underworld. I blended all those narrations and experiences and created characters for Ulidavarau…”

• In an interview, he mentioned that although he is a non-smoker, he has smoked cigarettes and cigars for the purpose of filming certain scenes in films.  ^[9]The New Indian Express

• He frequently enjoys drinking alcoholic beverages. ^[10]OTT play

Rakshit Shetty as Richard Anthony aka “Richi” in Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014)

Rakshit Shetty as Karna in Kirik Party (2016)

Rakshit Shetty as Inspector Narayana in Avane Srimannarayana (2019)