Rishika’s directorial debut to start rolling next month

Actor-turned-director Rishika Singh’s debut project is finally taking shape, and in all likelihood, the film will be launched on August 15. “Currently, the cast is getting finalised,” says Rishika, adding that this is a film for those who are young at heart. 

“The yet-to-be-titled project will be contemporary, and it has a youth-connect. It’s a romance, with very little drama and a lot of humour,” she reveals. The director wants to make the shots picturesque, and has chosen Coorg as one of the locations. “The film is about friendship and what happens when the relationship turns romantic. This is the rough outline of the story,” she says.

The story was developed by Rishika, along with two others. “We were a team of three women at the desk. One of the girls, from Denmark, came here to get trained at Tent Cinema. The other girl has been working as an assistant director in various films. It’s been a year-and-a-half, and the three of us have put in a lot of effort into the script. We are currently reworking the title, and planning to start shooting from August 15,” she says. Rajamani’s son, Achu Rajamani, is scoring the music, which the director believes will be the film’s highlight. 

Rishika comes from a filmy family. Her father, Rajendra Singh Babu, is a well-known director in the Kannada industry, and brother Aditya is an actor.

Asked if directing is the next step for any actor, she says, “Though directing was somewhere at the back of my mind, I never thought I would take it up so early on. A short course curated by my father at Mysuru University is what pushed me. I also got involved in conducting events under Rohini Entertainment, where I had the opportunity to direct an entire show from scratch. This experience helped me become confident about directing. And now, I am all set to go!” she says.