Rishab Shetty and Chidambaram, the filmmaker behind Manjummel Boys, are coming together for two films, beginning with a Kannada sports drama. The first project is already in pre-production and is expected to go on floors early next year, with producer Shibu Thameens backing the film.
The collaboration brings Chidambaram into Kannada cinema for a project led by Rishab Shetty, whose work as an actor, writer and director has largely been associated with Kannada-language stories. While the filmmaker has not yet revealed the sport at the center of the story, the cast, title and other key details are being kept under wraps.
For Chidambaram, the film follows a run that began with Jaan.E.Man in 2021 and reached a much wider audience with Manjummel Boys. The 2024 survival drama, inspired by a real incident, became one of Malayalam cinema’s major commercial successes and established Chidambaram as a filmmaker to watch beyond Kerala.
He subsequently directed Balan: The Boy, taking his storytelling in another direction rather than returning to the setting or formula of his previous success. His latest collaboration with Rishab Shetty now takes him into Kannada cinema and into a sports drama, marking another new direction in his filmmaking career.
Rishab Shetty, meanwhile, arrives at the collaboration with one of the strongest identities in contemporary Kannada cinema. Kantara turned him into a pan-Indian name, while his performance in the film earned him the National Award for Best Actor. His filmography has also continued to expand beyond the world of Kantara, with Jai Hanuman among his upcoming projects.
The sports drama therefore places Rishab Shetty in a genre that has not been central to the work for which he is best known. The Kantara films drew heavily from the culture, traditions and folklore of coastal Karnataka, whereas the new project will be built around a sporting backdrop.
That shift makes the collaboration particularly notable, although the makers have not disclosed enough about the story to indicate what kind of sports film it will ultimately be. The sport itself has not been revealed, and there are currently no details about the characters, title or broader plot.
The decision to keep those details under wraps means that, for now, the film’s creative combination is more clearly defined than its story. Rishab Shetty brings his established connection to Kannada cinema, while Chidambaram brings the perspective of a filmmaker whose recent work has reached audiences well beyond Malayalam cinema.
The project is also only the beginning of the association between the two. Rishab Shetty and Chidambaram are planning two films together, although the second project has not yet been detailed. For now, the sports drama is the one moving ahead, with pre-production under way and filming planned for early next year.
The two-film collaboration suggests a longer-term creative association between the actor-filmmaker and Chidambaram, but the details of the second project remain unknown. The immediate focus is on getting the first film into production and developing the Kannada sports drama.
Thameens’ involvement adds another Malayalam connection to the project. The producer has worked across Malayalam and Tamil cinema through banners including Thameens Films and HR Pictures, with credits spanning films such as Mura, Puli and Iru Mugan. He will produce the first Shetty-Chidambaram collaboration.
His involvement also connects the project’s Kannada setting with a producer whose work has extended across multiple South Indian film industries. However, beyond the fact that he is backing the first film, further production details have not yet been disclosed.
More details are expected as the film moves closer to production. For now, the combination itself is the story: a Kannada star who has built his recent career around culturally rooted cinema and a Malayalam filmmaker whose biggest success came from turning a contained survival story into a major theatrical phenomenon are joining hands on a sports drama.
The project also brings together two filmmakers whose recent work has established distinct identities within South Indian cinema. Rishab Shetty has become closely associated with stories rooted in Kannada culture and regional traditions, while Chidambaram has demonstrated an ability to take a contained story and connect it with a much wider audience.
Their first collaboration will test that combination in a genre that is relatively new territory for both sides of this particular partnership. With the sport, title, cast and story details still undisclosed, there is little to reveal about the film itself beyond its genre and language.
What is currently clear is that production is moving forward, with pre-production already under way and filming expected to begin early next year. The second film in the planned two-film collaboration remains even more closely under wraps.
For now, the Kannada sports drama represents an unusual meeting of creative voices from two major South Indian film industries. What that film looks like beyond its genre and language remains to be seen, but the collaboration between Rishab Shetty and Chidambaram gives the project a distinctive combination before cameras even begin to roll.
