Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday watched the Kannada action thriller ‘Kantara’ at Inox Cinemas in Bengaluru, Karnataka. After watching the movie, Sitharaman spoke to ‘Kantara’ director Rishab Shetty and congratulated him.
The finance minister watched the movie with a team of volunteers. She said Kantara is a well-made movie that captures the rich traditions of Tuluvanadu and Karavali.
Kantara, which hit the screens on September 30, has become the talk of the town for its compelling plot which involves conflict between humans and nature. Made in just Rs 16 crore budget, the thriller has so far collected globally Rs 280 crore.
The movie has received solid reviews from not just only film critics but also from other actors and politicians.
Earlier today, Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal praised Kantara saying it “showcases the culture of Karnataka”. “Kantara is a low-budget film that showcases the culture of Karnataka. It has grossed nearly 20 times its investment. Investors and industry are attracted to India and the state that has very progressive policies,” he said.
Superstar Rajinikanth recently took to Twitter to praise the director for producing “this masterpiece in Indian cinema”. He said the Kantara movie gave him goosebumps. “Rishab hats off to you as a writer, director, and actor. Congrats to the whole cast and crew of this masterpiece in Indian cinema,” he said.
“The unknown is more than the known” no one could have said this better in cinema than @hombalefilms#KantaraMovie you gave me goosebumps @shetty_rishab Rishab hats off to you as a writer,director and actor.Congrats to the whole cast and crew of this masterpiece in indian cinema
Film critic Taran Adarsh today said that Kantara has crossed the lifetime business of KGF Part 1 – another Kannada blockbuster – in Hindi version. He said the movie will cross the Rs 50 crore mark in the third week.
With a spectacular 9.1 rating, Kantara has now topped IMDb’s list of ‘India’s Current Top 250 Films’.
Bahubali star Prabhas in an Instagram post said he watched Kantara for the second time and “what an extraordinary experience it has been”. “Great concept and a thrilling climax. A must-watch film in theatres,” he wrote.
Actor Dhanush also praised ‘Kantara’ calling it a “mind-blowing’ and “a must-watch” movie.
Rishab Shetty and Sapthami Gowda-starrer action-thriller Kantara has minted a total of Rs 100 crore in terms of worldwide gross box office collections. Most of this collection has come from its Kannada version and its Telugu and Hindi versions have started to pick up as well, according to film trade analyst Ramesh Bala.
Bala tweeted, “Massive success for Kantara as it enters the Rs 100 crore worldwide gross club.. Mostly from the Kannada version.. Telugu and Hindi- the box office rampage has just started…”
Kantara IMDb ratings, reviews
Moreover, Kantara has an IMDb rating of 9.4 out of 10 at the time of writing this story. This is much higher than SS Rajamouli-directorial RRR and Yash and Sanjay Dutt-starrer KGF: Chapter 2. While RRR has a rating of 8 out of 10, KGF Chapter has a rating of 8.4 out of 10 on IMDb.
A user wrote on IMDb, “South movies are best now realised why. Great topic, direction and acting… Guys must watch. Goosebumps after watching it. I was unaware who the actor was but after watching I became a fan of his. Must watch!”
Another user noted, “We saw Avatar, Inception, Tenet, etc. but this is beyond cinema. What a great piece of art. We are destroying our nature and in turn nature started asking it back by way of COVID-19 or whatever you remember. We are encroaching on every natural resource to satisfy our needs. This movie is the last warning to all of us who have forgotten our culture.”
Sapthami Gowda and Rishab Shetty on Kantara’s success
Commenting on the overwhelming response to Kantara, actor Sapthami Gowda told India Today, “I think there’s an underlying issue that we’re trying to talk about in the movie, that is you know the human and the encroachment issues but it’s being said in a way that everybody can connect with”. She added the film has all the components that any other film comprises such as love story, humour, conflict, reasoning behind every character and a beautiful climax.
Shetty, on the other hand, did not anticipate the concept of the movie to become such a big hit. Both Gowda and Shetty were in an exclusive interaction with India Today TV’s Akshita Nandagopal.
About Kantara
Kantara focuses on the man vs nature conflict and features Rishab Shetty in a double role. It also has rituals such as Kambala and Bhoota Kola in the backdrop. The film features Shetty as Kaadubettu Shiva and Shiva’s father. Kantara also features actors like Sapthami Gowda, Achyuth Kumar, Kishore, Pramod Shetty, Prakash Thuminad and Manasi Sudhir in significant roles.
Kantara has been produced by KGF producers Hombale Films and has been distributed by AA Films in Hindi, Geetha Arts in Telugu, Prithviraj Productions in Malayalam and Dream Warrior Pictures in Tamil.
Kantara actor and director Rishab Shetty has said that new avenues have opened up after the Yash-starrer KGF franchise became a blockbuster in India and globally. Shetty pointed out that with KGF becoming such a massive hit, people have started looking at films as being a part of Indian cinema instead of segregating them into Bollywood, Tollywood (Telugu film industry) and Sandalwood (Kannada film industry).
Shetty said, “After KGF, a new avenue has opened and people have started recognising Indian cinema instead of looking at films as regional and segregating them into Bollywood, Tollywood and Sandalwood. Despite [Kantara] being a regional film, people are watching the film everywhere regardless of.” The star cast of Kantara — Shetty along with Sapthami Gowda — were in conversation with India Today TV‘s Akshita Nandagopal.
Co-star Sapthami Gowda, meanwhile, weighed in and said this is a matter of perspective as people are open to watching all kinds of movies as long as the content is good. Citing Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, she said, “It was a Korean movie, it was put out in that language but it still did very well across even our nation… I think we should never let go of our roots and when you bring that out when you bring that essence out, people are connecting.”
She added that Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi did really well not only in north India but also down south as audience perspective has changed drastically.
The actor-director, last seen in the Kannada film Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, mentioned that he anticipated that people would like the concept of Kantara but did not expect it to become such a raging hit. Talking about what might have clicked with the audiences, Gowda further underscored the film focuses on human and encroachment issues.
Gowda said, “I think there’s an underlying issue that we’re trying to talk about in the movie, that is you know the human and the encroachment issues but it’s being said in a way that everybody can connect with.” She added Kantara has every element that any other movie has such as humour, love story, conflict, justification behind every character and a beautiful climax.
Meanwhile, the film is about to release in Malayalam on October 20 and will be distributed by Prithviraj Sukumaran across Kerala. The film released in Hindi today.
Going further, he said that his latest movie Kantara got 120 shows in Mumbai within two days of release. Shetty noted all this happened due to word of mouth and social media. He added that his film is available in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir as well and has gotten great response.
Shetty said, “Kantara was released originally in Kannada and it worked very well. In Mumbai, many Kannadigas took non-Kannadigas to watch the film. After that, people started suggesting the film. I have read many such tweets. It started out with 10 shows here but got 120 shows after 2 days of release. It is screening in Maratha Mandir as well and has gotten great response.”
Their comments came after Kantara glowing reviews from audiences and critics alike. The film has got a user rating of 9.5 out of 10 on IMDb. One of the users wrote, “Epitome of acting! Chilling experience! It’s a mystical thriller and slice of life……. Top class direction, BGM, cinematography, choreography and touch of spirituality. I watched yesterday night, and the movie’s experience is still with me like [a] hang over and [am] not able to get out of it!!!!!!!!”
Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh gave the film a four-star rating and a one-word review of “Brilliant.” Adarsh said that the film “mesmerizes you with strong storytelling, superb visuals and fantabulous finale.” He added that this is the one you should absolutely not miss.
Adarsh further said, “Rishab Shetty deserves distinction marks for two reasons: Superior storytelling+ electrifying act, especially towards penultimate moments… Kantara is a massive success in Karnataka and it won’t be a surprise if this well-made film finds immense patronage in Hindi belt too.”
Kantara focuses on the tussle between human beings and nature and features Rishab Shetty in a double role. It also features Sapthami Gowda, Achyuth Kumar, Manasi Sudhir, Prakash Thuminad and Pramod Shetty in important roles. The film has been backed by Hombale Films, which also produced the Yash-starrer blockbuster KGF franchise.
