Rishab Shetty Teams Up With Manjummel Boys Director Chidambaram for Two Films

Bengaluru, October 5: National Award-winning actor filmmaker Rishab Shetty is set to begin a new creative collaboration with Malayalam filmmaker Chidambaram, director of the acclaimed Manjummel Boys, with the two planning to work together on two films.

The first project will be a Kannada sports drama featuring Rishab Shetty in the lead role. The collaboration marks a new pairing between two filmmakers who have established distinctive identities through regionally rooted cinema with strong audience appeal.

Chidambaram gained widespread recognition with Manjummel Boys, a Malayalam survival drama that became a major success and attracted attention beyond Kerala. The film’s success established him as one of the prominent filmmakers working in contemporary South Indian cinema.

Rishab Shetty, meanwhile, has built a reputation as both an actor and filmmaker. His work has received national attention, particularly after the success of Kantara, in which he served as director and lead actor.

The new partnership brings together two creative personalities whose work has often drawn on local settings, characters and cultural elements. Their first project together will move into the sports genre, creating a different setting from Chidambaram’s previous survival drama and Rishab’s best-known mythological and folklore-driven work.

Details about the storyline and supporting cast of the upcoming Kannada film have not yet been fully revealed. However, the announcement itself has generated interest because of the combination of the two filmmakers.

The sports drama is expected to mark Chidambaram’s entry into Kannada cinema. His previous major work was Manjummel Boys, which centred on a group of friends and their survival after one of them became trapped inside a dangerous cave. The film combined friendship, suspense and survival elements.

Rishab Shetty’s involvement gives the new project an additional layer of anticipation. The actor has become one of the prominent names in Indian regional cinema following the success of his films and his growing profile outside the Kannada industry.

His career has included work across acting, directing and writing, allowing him to participate in different stages of filmmaking. His approach has frequently involved stories connected to regional culture and communities, making the upcoming sports drama another opportunity to explore a different part of Kannada storytelling.

The two-film agreement also suggests that the collaboration extends beyond a single project. While the first movie is identified as a Kannada sports drama, details of the second film have not yet been disclosed.

That decision leaves room for considerable speculation about the direction of their next project, although the makers have not announced enough information to establish its genre, cast or storyline.

The announcement comes at a time when South Indian cinema continues to attract audiences across language markets. Films originating in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu industries have increasingly found audiences outside their traditional territories through theatrical releases, dubbed versions and streaming platforms.

Both Shetty and Chidambaram have been part of that broader shift. Their previous projects demonstrated how stories grounded in regional environments can achieve wider recognition when supported by strong writing and distinctive filmmaking.

For Chidambaram, the collaboration provides an opportunity to work with a leading Kannada actor while entering another major South Indian film industry. For Shetty, it offers the chance to work with a filmmaker whose recent film earned strong critical and commercial attention.

The sports genre also gives the project a potentially different narrative framework. Sports films can combine competition, personal ambition, team dynamics and social backgrounds, creating opportunities for character-driven storytelling.

At this stage, however, the makers have kept the specifics under wraps. The announcement has confirmed the broad direction of the first project, while further information about the plot, production schedule and other cast members is expected to emerge later.

The collaboration is also notable because neither filmmaker is being presented merely as a participant in the other’s established formula. Instead, the project brings together their respective creative strengths for a new story.

Rishab Shetty’s presence as the lead actor places him at the centre of the film, while Chidambaram’s role behind the camera will determine its visual and narrative treatment. Their partnership could therefore provide a fresh combination within Kannada cinema.

The second film in the agreement adds another element of interest. With no detailed announcement yet, audiences will have to wait for the filmmakers to reveal whether the follow-up project will continue in a similar creative direction or explore an entirely different genre.

The partnership also demonstrates the increasing movement of talent between South Indian film industries. Directors and actors are increasingly collaborating across linguistic boundaries, allowing creative teams to bring different filmmaking traditions together.

Chidambaram’s move into Kannada cinema follows the growing national profile of Manjummel Boys. The film’s reception helped introduce his work to a wider audience and positioned him as a filmmaker capable of creating emotionally driven stories with strong commercial appeal.

For Shetty, the project represents another step in a career that has expanded from regional recognition to a wider national audience. His work has helped place Kannada cinema more prominently within India’s broader film conversation.

The first film’s sports setting will likely distinguish it from both filmmakers’ recent projects. While the subject offers familiar elements of competition and determination, the creative treatment will ultimately determine how it fits into the wider landscape of Indian sports cinema.

With the announcement now official, attention is expected to shift towards casting updates, filming details and the eventual release plans. The confirmation of two projects also gives the collaboration a longer-term dimension rather than limiting it to a one-film association.

For Kannada cinema, the pairing represents a notable creative development, bringing together Rishab Shetty’s established screen presence and Chidambaram’s recent success as a director.

The first project is therefore being watched not only as a new sports drama but also as the beginning of a broader creative partnership. Further announcements from the team are expected to provide more information about the story, production and the second film.