Best remembered for his portrayal of Tejaswi on the Kannada television show Anuroopa, Rishi had managed to gather a big fan following even before his movie debut in 2017. While he had always been a theater enthusiast, being on television was never his plan. However, he was roped in by director TN Seetharam for the television series, which made Rishi, popularly known as Purmy, a household name. In 2017, the young actor made his debut with Simple Suni`s Kannada comedy thriller Operation Alamelamma, which also features Rajesh Nataranga and Shraddha Srinath. His 2019 releases include Kavaludaari and Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakaasha.