Exclusive: After Pedro, Rishab Shetty-backed Shivamma goes to Cannes

Rishab Shetty surely knows how to pick the right young talent, as far as the directors he is backing goes. Following the good run of Natesh Hegde's

Pedro

, which began its global journey at the Marche du Film at Cannes, he's now got another film he's backing - Jai Shankar A's

Shivamma

- that has been chosen to be showcased at the prestigious market at Cannes this year.


Director Jai, who reveals that he takes inspiration from real-life incidents and stories around him, shares, "I have been approached through my life to attend some direct marketing sessions. I did go to some out of curiosity. I have since wondered how the lives of these salespersons would be, as they require a lot of self motivation and perseverance to pursue what they are doing, considering they face a lot of scepticism and resistance. This led to my film's story, which I have set in my hometown of Koppal," he says.

Jai says he likes cinema by Abbas Kiarostami, Satyajit Ray and Asghar Farhadi, but his style of filmmaking is to use non-actors and keep the stories real. "I did that in my previous film

Lachavva

and I am following the same with Shivamma. We auditioned people who fit the bill and didn't look for acting experience. This lends authenticity, according to me. I think this is how I would like to narrate my stories, which are based on things that I observe - to cast real people and not trained actors," he says, adding that he cannot wait to be a part of the festival and see the reaction to his film.


Rishab is also elated. "I have known Jai for a while and he was one of the filmmakers of my anthology

Katha Sangama

. He had directed Lachavva in that anthology, which won rave reviews. I want to back films like Pedro and Shivamma, as they speak about stories set in the heartland of our state. I have seen how tough it is as a filmmaker myself, as films that are devoid of commercial staples are seldom supported by producers. I intend to share stories that are honest, varied and out of the box," says Rishab