Rishab Shetty to play Sri Krishnadevaraya; actor now brand ambassador of historical and mythological movies?

The latest buzz is that the Kantara star is set to collaborate with Jodhaa Akbar maker Ashutosh Gowariker for a film, on the emperor of the Vijayanagara empire

Is Kannada actor Rishab Shetty establishing himself as the brand ambassador of historical and mythological movies? That’s the question that netizens have posed, following the actor-filmmaker’s latest rumoured film update. According to the buzz, Rishab will play Sri Krishnadevaraya, the emperor of the Vijayanagara empire in a film to be directed by Jodhaa Akbar maker Ashutosh Gowariker. 

Rishab Shetty as Sri Krishnadevaraya?

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If this development is true, it will be the latest historical/mythological film that Rishab has okayed. Since the success of Kantara in 2022, Rishab has only acted in its prequel, Kantara Chapter 1, which is due to release on October 2, 2025 and has officially announced that he will play Hanuman in Telugu director Prashanth Varma’s Jai Hanuman, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sandeep Singh’s The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

Since the success of Kantara: Ondu dantakathe, which earned Rishab the moniker ‘Divine Star’, he has excused himself from roles in films like Bachelor Party and Laughing Buddha that had been announced with him on the cast. A sequel to his hit crime comedy Bell Bottom, which was his first film as a solo lead, is also in limbo, while he also declined to be a part of the Malayalam film Malaikottai Vaaliban by Lijo Jose Pellissery, featuring Mohanlal in the lead. 

At the time, Rishab had said that he chose not to do Malaikottai Vaaliban because his focus was on doing Kannada films. His upcoming filmography, though, does not reflect this and the actor had recently come under fire for accepting the role of Shivaji Maharaj. Indie filmmaker Natesh Hegde’s sophomore project, Vaghachipani, had begun as a Rishab Shetty production, with Rishab rumoured to be on the cast. But then he handed over production to Anurag Kashyap, while Malayalam actor-filmmaker Dileesh Pothan was roped in for the role meant for Rishab. 

As excited as his fans are about most of Rishab’s new collaborations, especially the rumoured latest one about Sri Krishnadevaraya, the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty, they also wonder if they will ever again get to see him in a ‘normal’ role as part of a regular commercial movie. Well, only time will tell.