Rishi is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed and written by Prakash. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Vijay Raghavendra, Radhika and Sindhu Tolani in the lead roles along with Srinath and Avinash in other prominent roles.The score and soundtrack was by Gurukiran whose compositions were appreciated by critics and masses. The film ran for a hundred days and eventually went on to become one of the hits of the year 2005.^[1] The film was remade in Telugu as Bangaru Babu (2009) with Jagapathi Babu.^[2][3]

Rishi is the head of a college, a rich man living with his loving family and is soon to be married to Sneha. He finds out that he has a stepbrother, Hari. His father had an illegitimate relationship with a woman whom he loved. He couldn't say this earlier because of the fear of losing respect in the society. The son born out of such relationship is Hari. His mother has died recently. Due to the illtreatment given by the society to himself and his mother, Hari has become drug addicted. What will Rishi do after knowing his father's truth? Will he change Hari's life? Will Rishi's family and society accept Hari as their family's son? This forms the crux of the film.

R. G. Vijayasarathy of IANS wrote that "'Rishi' is a must for all quality-conscious Kannada filmgoers".^[4] A critic from Indiaglitz wrote that "Rishi is a must for all quality-conscious Kannada filmgoers".^[5] A critic from Viggy wrote that "In a nutshell, Rishi has everything on screen that the director desired - from aggression to affection; from sentiment to comedy; from seriousness to frivolousness. It's a cheer joy to watch a classy family entertainer".^[6]

• 2004–05 Karnataka State Film Awards

1. Best Screenplay - Prakash, Abhishek
2. Best Sound Recording - Murali