Rishab Shetty wins two awards at IFFM 2026

Rishab Shetty received the Best Director Award for Kantara: Chapter 1 and the Leadership in Cinema Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne on Sunday, Bollywood Hungama reports. Shetty shared images of the awards on Instagram and credited his team, Kannada cinema, and the culture and traditions behind his stories.

The Times of India reports that Shetty attended the festival’s red carpet in a black silk-cotton kurta and an ivory handwoven silk dhoti with a zari border. His kurta featured the Gandaberunda, a two-headed bird associated with Karnataka. Kantara: Chapter 1, which Shetty directed and stars in, is a prequel to the 2022 film Kantara and is set against the fourth-century Kadamba dynasty. Shetty is also working on Jai Hanuman and The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, though release details for the latter have not been officially announced.