Producer Feels Rishab Shetty Didn't Deserve Trolling
Rishab, who became a household name in Tollywood after the massive success of Kantara, is now returning with another semi-divine saga.
At the pre-release event of Kantara: Chapter 1 — the much-awaited prequel to the 2022 blockbuster Kantara releasing on October 2 — Rishab Shetty flew down to Hyderabad and addressed the gathering. However, his speech quickly went viral on Telugu social media, drawing criticism for unexpected reasons.
“Rishab Shetty is a very good human being and doesn’t deserve this trolling,” said a producer, reacting to the backlash. The hate comments weren’t for anything offensive he said, but simply because he delivered his entire speech in Kannada.
“Maybe Rishab felt more comfortable expressing himself in his mother tongue, but that shouldn’t invite so much hate,” the producer explained.
Some Telugu movie fans were upset that, despite targeting the Telugu market and its box-office revenues, Rishab did not utter even a single word in Telugu. Others pointed out that he didn’t attempt English either, which they viewed as a deliberate choice to stick only to Kannada.
Rishab, who became a household name in Tollywood after the massive success of Kantara, is now returning with another semi-divine saga. “Some Tamil and Bollywood actors switch to English if they aren’t confident in Telugu, but Rishab preferred Kannada to convey his thoughts clearly and quickly. That may have irked a few netizens,” the producer noted.
Fans also compared his behavior at other promotions — he spoke Kannada at the Kannada event, Tamil at the Tamil event, and Hindi during Hindi promotions. But at the Telugu event, he stuck entirely to Kannada, which fueled the backlash.
“Some netizens are being judgmental without understanding his reasons. Rishab is a well-behaved actor who is gradually carving his niche among Telugu viewers. Instead of treating him harshly, we should give him time — he may soon start speaking in Telugu at such events,” the producer concluded.
