Kamal Haasan gives Rishab Shetty 'precious gift', writes him an 'appreciation letter' for Kantara

Kamal Haasan has sent Rishab Shetty a letter, where the veteran actor praised Rishab's Kannada film Kantara, and compared it to the Malayalam classic Nirmalyam. Read his full statement below.

Veteran actor Kamal Hassan sent an appreciation letter to Kantara's director and actor Rishab Shetty. On Friday, Rishab took to Instagram to thank the 'legend' for his 'lovely message' and 'precious gift'. He added he was 'too overwhelmed and awestruck' with Kamal's gift. In his letter Kamal Hassan referred to Rishab Shetty's film as a classic, and said, “I know you could not have seen a film called Nirmalyam by MT Vasudevan Nair. Your film has shades of that classic. Your cinematic DNA has many forefathers you may not know of, but remember that the cinematic language you speak came from them.”

Kamal Haasan has praised Rishab Shetty and sent him a letter on Kantara.

Rishab Shetty shared a glimpse of Kamal Hassan's appreciation letter and wrote in the caption, "It means a lot to receive such a lovely message from the legend of Indian cinema. Too overwhelmed and awestruck to see this surprise gift from Kamal sir. Thanks a ton for this precious gift sir..."

Rishab Shetty thanked Kamal Haasan for his letter.

In the framed note, Kamal Hassan had said that while he should have written an appreciation letter the day he watched Kantara, the letter would not have been able to express enough. A part of his note read, “A film like Kantara stays in your mind and blossoms. I am a Godless man, yet I understand the need for one in most. I truly believe compassion is lacking in Gods depicted in most of our mythology. We of the Dravidian stock are a matriarchal society. That is seen in the last scene of your film, where the God behaves like a mother, rather than a testosterone father that he started off as." Reacting to Kamal's letter, a fan commented on Rishab's post, "Lovely words and well-deserved appreciation, but a small correction it’s not mythology."

Earlier, veteran actor Rajinikanth had reviewed the Kannada film, calling it a ‘masterpiece of Indian cinema’. He also praised the efforts of the film's lead actor and director Rishab. Kantara is set in the fictional village of Dakshina Kannada. The movie follows Rishab's journey as he engages in combat with a forest range officer. A sequel for the movie is reportedly in the works.