Raj B Shetty: My next production will be a comedy in which I am not the hero

Raj B Shetty broke into the Kannada film industry with Ondu Motteya Kathe in 2017, a film that was produced by his friends, after which he launched his banner Lighter Buddha Films. The first venture from the house of Lighter Buddha Films was Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana and now, the second is Toby, which will be in theatres on August 25. While Raj has played the lead in both of his productions so far, the actor-filmmaker is categoric that he is not hung up about being in future ventures from the banner. The objective of the production house will be to give deserving talent a platform to showcase their skill sets across departments.

Toby, for instance, is the directorial debut of a long-time Raj associate Basil AL Chalakkal. The next production from Lighter Buddha Films is already in the works, Raj said while speaking to News18 Kannada recently. After a gangster film (Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana) and a revenge drama (Toby), Raj is looking at returning to the genre he began his filmi career with – comedy. And, more importantly, he is not playing the lead in it. “We are introducing a friend of mine as hero in our next production. After that, the plan is to make a love story, for which we are still on the lookout for a suitable actor,” Raj said. One thing that Raj is particular about, though, is that whoever he collaborates with has to have a passion for cinema and not just look at it as a stepping stone to fame, money and greatness.

Raj’s focus, for now, is Toby, with the film only a month away. The team is looking at releasing the trailer of the film in the first week of August, followed by some more behind-the-scenes glimpses. To be presented in Karnataka by KVN Productions, Toby also stars Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Samyukta Hornad and Chaithra J Achar in pivotal roles. The film has music by Midhun Mukundan and cinematography by Praveen Shriyan.