The three Shettys of Kannada cinema – Rishab, Rakshit and Raj – are ruling the roost. The influential trio is involved with some of the most noteworthy films in recent years as actors, directors or producers.
Rishab Shetty directed and starred in the blockbuster Kantara: Chapter 1, the Kantara prequel that came out a few weeks ago. Raj B Shetty produced and had a role in the breakout hit Su From So that was released in July. Fans of Rakshit Shetty are still reeling from his lead performance in Hemanth M Rao’s two-parter Sapta Saagaradaache Ello (2023).
The Shettys have worked closely with each other in various capacities, apart from dipping into the same pool of actors and technicians for their productions. For instance, Rishab Shetty directed Rakshit Shetty in Kirik Party in 2016. Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021) brings together Kannada cinema’s trinity in one place.
Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, which is available on ZEE5, is co-produced by Rakshit Shetty and directed by Raj B Shetty. The director stars alongside Rishab Shetty in a brooding saga of brotherhood, loyalty and betrayal.
The tale of big fish and small fish appropriately has an early scene revolving around the animal. In the well from where Hari and his mother get their fish, they find an injured boy. The boy, who is given the name Shiva, shows signs of mental distress and lingers in a catatonic zone for years.
Shiva eventually communicates through sudden savagery, lashing out at whoever gets in Hari’s way. As grown-ups, Hari (Rishab Shetty) and Shiva (Raj B Shetty) develop a symbiotic relationship. Hari uses Shiva as his attack dog to set up a criminal enterprise that seeks to control Mangalore.
The men, individually fearsome and collectively deadly, cannot be confused with one another. Hari is a god-fearing thug, never failing to follow up his feats with cleansing rituals. Shiva wanders around like a vagrant, content in the company of gully cricketers and other gang members lower down in the pecking order, such as Shekara (Deepak Rai Panaje).
The power dynamic, in which either man knows his place, is disturbed by Hari’s growing ambitions. Police officer Bhramaiyya causes further rifts. Bhramaiyya (Gopal Krishna Deshpande) is a bit like Shiva, ordered about and treated like dirt until he decides to lash out.
Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana has a formulaic plot that Raj B Shetty elevates through gripping scenes, finely etched characters and a consistent mood of tension. The 151-minute film is in the vein of leisurely paced, realistic gangster dramas with sweeping story arcs that gather along the minutiae of life in the underbelly. There are echoes of movies such as Pithamagan, Subramaniapuram, Gangs of Wasseypur and Vada Chennai.
Shiva’s anguish over Hari has the hint of unrequited love. Interestingly, there are no significant female characters in the movie, apart from the actress who plays Hari’s mother.
For non-Kannada fans of Rishab Shetty’s muscular hero in Kantara, his Hari is a revelation – a smooth operator who opts for brain over brawn. As Hari’s psychotic muscleman, Raj B Shetty is miles away from the comic bride-hunter he played in his own film Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017).
Some of the faces in Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana will be familiar to viewers of Kantara and Su From So – Prakash Thuminad, Shaneel Gautham, JP Thuminad, Mime Ramdas. The cliche that it takes a village to make a movie is amply evident in the films featuring the three Shettys, who have found ways to co-exist and thrive while also furthering their individual careers.
Also start the week with these films:
In ‘Presence’, a ghost bears witness to a fraying family
The value and romance of journalism in ‘All The President’s Men’
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