Rishab Shetty quit eating non-veg 20-30 days before Kantara shoot: ‘I would not consume anything except…’

Rishab Shetty, who wrote, directed and fronted, the Kannada period action thriller Kantara has revealed that the ‘acting part was definitely the toughest’. In a new interview, he said that he quit eating non-veg 20-30 ahead of shooting the Daiv Kola sequence. Recalling the scene where he was beaten up by a firestick, Rishab Shetty said it was real, adding that his back was burnt. (Also Read | Kantara’s Rishab Shetty takes Rajinikanth’s blessings after meeting him, touches his feet. See pics)

Kantara is set in the fictional village of Dakshina Kannada. The story follows a Kambala champion, played by Rishab, who comes to loggerheads with an upright Forest Range officer, Murali. The action thriller released countrywide on September 30. Kantara also features Achyuth Kumar and Sapthami Gowda in pivotal roles.

Speaking with Times of India, Rishab said, “Acting part was definitely the toughest. Not because of expressing but the action sequences. Especially the 50-60 kgs weight that I had to carry during the Daiv Kola sequence. I had quit eating non-veg 20-30 days before shooting that sequence. After I put on the Daiv Kola Alankar, I would not consume anything except coconut water. They would give me a prasad before and after doing the sequence.”

“I would collapse by the end of it. But I would get up otherwise the energy of the people would drop down. I didn’t think about the difficulties while I was shooting. Now that the media is asking about it, I’m talking about it. The action sequence where I’m getting beaten up by a firestick was real. My back was burnt. It was a painful shoot but the only thing on my mind was that I want to do it,” he added.

Recently, Kantara became the third Kannada film ever to cross the ₹250-crore mark in global box office gross earnings. The film was reportedly made on a budget of ₹15 crore. Kantara is also among the highest-grossing Indian films of 2022 across all languages. It sits at the seventh spot after KGF 2, RRR, Ponniyin Selvan I, Vikram, Brahmastra Part One Shiva, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.