'I am a huge fan of Puneeth Rajkumar'

It is hard to forget the character called Purmy in ‘Operation Alamelamma’. Something about the mannerism and raw style made the character endearing. And actor Rishi, who made his debut as Purmy, says he thoroughly enjoyed playing somebody that he is not in real life.

Rishi’s first brush with acting was during his theatre days in college. His was soon offered a role in a television serial, ‘Anuroopa’ which made him a household name. Rishi feels that ‘Operation Alamelamma’ came at a time when he was preparing to get into cinema. He says that his debut gave him a good understanding of what goes on in the world of cinema.

The actor will be seen essaying the role of a traffic cop in his next project, ‘Kaavali Daari’. The project is directed by Hemanth Rao and co-produced by Puneeth Rajkumar. “I play a young traffic police personnel who aspires to be in the crime department. He feels that he could do better in that section. He then slowly starts investigating a case along with a senior cop, played by Anant Nag. The rest of the film talks about whether these two men are successful in cracking the tough case,” says Rishi.

He says it is director Hemanth’s style of narrating the script that made him accept the project without a second thought.

“I have always admired the way Hemanth has dealt with his projects, including ‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’. He is a good storyteller who has a good command over his story and character. I consider his quality of writing as top notch,” adds Rishi.

The actor also met Puneeth Rajkumar during the discussion for ‘Kaavali Daari’.

“I am a huge fan of Puneeth Rajkumar. He is an extremely down-to earth person and knows how to handle his stardom very well. There is a lot to learn from him,” says Rishi.

Coming back to the movie, he finds the subject of ‘Kaavali Daari’ to be a very real and relatable one. “I was always curious to know the selection process for traffic cop and how they are trained. Their job is a thankless one,” feels Rishi.