Raj B Shetty: The ‘RRR’ of Kannada cinema coming together depends on Rakshit Shetty

In the last few years, the three R’s – Rakshit, Rishab and Raj – have found a firm place for themselves in the Kannada industry. They are seen as the frontrunners of the wave of new-age filmmaking and anything they associate with not only arouses curiosity, but is also believed to be of superior quality. These three actor-filmmakers are thick friends, and often collaborate with each other – Rishab was in Raj’s Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, Raj choreographed the last Bhootha Kola in Rishab’s Kantara, Raj wrote portions of Rakshit’s 777 Charlie and did a role too, while Rakshit and Rishab have collaborated on Tuglak, Ulidavaru Kandante, Kirik Party, Ricky and Avane Srimannarayana. But despite their friendship and the fact that they discuss their works with each other, the three of them have not yet come together to do one project, something that fans have been urging them to do for a while.

Raj, who is currently promoting his next film Toby, was asked about the union of RRR yet again and he explained that it was down to Rakshit to make it happen. “Rakshit has written a story meant for the three of us, so, if that takes off at some point, we will all be in it. For certain reasons, that project is on hold at the moment, but if everything aligns, audiences will get their wish of seeing us together onscreen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Raj’s Toby, a film that he has written and acted in, is coming to theatres on August 25. The film, directed by his long-time associate Basil AL Chalakkal, is a revenge drama that Raj has said is his most challenging project to date, as it was physically and emotionally draining. The team is looking at releasing Toby in Kannada first, and depending on its reception at the box office, they will decide on whether to dub it and take it to other markets as well. For now, KVN Productions is handling the distribution of the film in Karnataka.