OTTplay Awards 2022: Rustic Heroes Raj B. Shetty and Rishab Shetty dedicate 'new wave' award to Puneeth Rajkumar

Kannada cinema has been on a steep rise in stature over the past decade or so with a constant influx of talent. Aside from the fact that a massive, globally-accepted franchise like K.G.F was fully conceived and executed by the artists of the Kannada film fraternity, the region has also witnessed a flourish of smaller but content-rich material over these years. It shouldn't come as a surprise that both Rishab Shetty and Raj B. Shetty are at the forefront of this cultural shift. 

And as due acknowledgement, the two were honoured recently at the maiden edition of the OTTplay Awards for their pioneering work in what can be termed as new wave of Kannada Cinema. Rishab and Raj have excelled as both actors and directors and delivered some of the finest work of the recent times: their most recent collaboration being the gangster drama Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (also written and directed by Raj B. Shetty).

Accepting the award together amid tremendous fanfare in Mumbai, Raj B. Shetty and Rishab Shetty alluded to the fact that with the advent of OTT media, language barriers are blurring out gradually and artists such as themselves are now able to conceive and produce rivetting content without having to compromise on their cultural identity.

And in his quintessential manner, Rishab Shetty echoed his friend Raj's sentiments and added that he dedicates the award to the late Powerstar Puneeth Rajkumar. 

Raj B. Shetty began his filmmaking journey with the slice-of-life comedy film Ondu Motteya Kathe (also his directorial debut) and has since acted in films like Gubbi Mele Brahmastra, Maya Bazaar, and 777 Charlie. Rishab Shetty, on the other hand, is known for his acting roles in films like Lucia and Ulidavaru Kandanthe but rose to prominence as the director of the superhit Kirik Party and for his performance in Bell Bottom.