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Rishab Shettys Kantara Chapter 1 has made fans go gaga. The film which is the sequel to Kantara has crossed Rs 800 crore worldwide making it the highest grosser of 2025. However did you know that Rishab Shetty who directed and acted in the movie initially wanted someone else to play the role of Shiva in the first part of the film? Yes you read that right! The actor who was approached was one of the biggest stars of the South Indian film industry. However he turned down the role. Scroll down to know the name. The Man Considered for Shivas Character Was... It will be a shocking surprise for all the fans but the man who was initially considered for Shivas role in Kantara was the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar. Yes that’s correct! Before Rishab Shetty chose to take on the lead role himself he had initially offered it to superstar Puneeth Rajkumar. Following the film’s massive success the actor-director opened up about this in a conversation with Zoom. “Soon after I narrated the story to Puneeth sir he got very excited about the project. He wanted to explore different stories. But his other projects continued to keep him away from Kantara. One day he called me and asked me to go ahead with the film without him. He told me that if I waited for him I might not be able to do the film that year” Rishab said. Puneeth fondly known as Appu sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 46 due to a heart attack and couldn’t witness the film’s release. Meanwhile coming back to Kantara Chapter 1 the movie did wonders on the big screen. Released on October 2 2025 Kantara Chapter 1 has so far grossed approximately Rs 817 crore worldwide including around Rs 707 crore in India and Rs 110 crore overseas after 26 days.