Kantara: Chapter 1 is unstoppable at the box office! With each day, Rishab Shetty’s film is getting bigger and better in terms of collections. The latest update is that this rustic action thriller stormed into the Rs 400 crore worldwide club within six days of release signalling its widespread appeal. On the 6th day (Tuesday), Kantara: Chapter 1 collected Rs 33.5 crore (net).
Kantara Chapter 1 stormed into the Rs 400 crore worldwide club within six days of release signalling its widespread appeal.
Film steamrolls new milestones
Rishab Shetty‘s Kantara Chapter 1 continues to make waves at the box office. The film picked up momentum on Tuesday after a slight decline on Monday – thanks to the discount ticket price offer in many centres. Released on October 2, the worldwide collections of the film are now estimated to be Rs 407 crore (gross) after six days. A prequel to his National Award-winning film Kantara (2022), Kantara Chapter 1 continues to steamroll new milestones and with each passing day at the box office. By storming into the Rs 400 crore club, the film eclipsed the lifetime collection of the prequel (Kantara) in the process. With no major releases around, the film is expected to extend its dream run till the weekend at the box office.
Gulshan Devaiah as Kulashekara in Kantara Chaper 1
Rishab Shetty’s wife Pragati expresses gratitude
Rishab Shetty’s wife Pragati expressed excitement and gratitude for being a part of Kantara: Chapter 1. Pragati who designed the costumes for the film, took to her social media handle, thanked for the opportunity. Sharing a series of BTS pictures from the sets, Pragati commented that being a part of Kantara Chapter 1 has been a truly unforgettable journey. Designing costumes for a story so rooted, raw, and divine was more than work; it was an emotion, she added, expressing thankfulness to have woven a small part of Rishab Shetty’s magnificent vision. Rishab Shetty’s stellar performance has been a major highlight of the film apart from his directorial brilliance.
South Indian films are gearing up with an exciting new lineup of releases, taking up top spots in the audience’s watchlist. If you’re still wondering what to watch this week in theaters, here are the movies you need to check out.
Kantara: Chapter 1, starring Rishab Shetty in the lead role, is slated to hit the silver screens on October 2, 2025. Written and directed by the actor himself, the film is the second installment in the Kantara franchise and serves as a prequel to Kantara (2022).
The film explores the origins of the lore behind Kantara, partially teased in the first installment. Set during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi, the movie promises a blend of mysticism and ancestral conflict. Similar to its predecessor, Kantara: Chapter 1 delves into the connection between man, nature, and the divine.
While more details are awaited, Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah are playing the co-leads.
2. Erra Cheera
Cast: Srikanth, Ajay, Kamal Kamaraju, Suman Babu, Karunya Chowdary, Sanjana Shetty, Bhanu Shree, Ali
Director: Suman Babu
Language: Telugu
Genre: Horror Thriller
Runtime: TBA
Release date: October 1, 2025
Erra Cheera is a Telugu-language horror thriller that follows the lives of Dasu and Avanthika, a newly married couple. After their wedding, Avanthika kills Dasu’s grandmother to usurp her property and later transforms into a malevolent spirit, haunted by the unresolved death of her own mother.
Meanwhile, a police officer, Sivakumar, becomes entangled in the unfolding supernatural events. The central mystery revolves around Avanthika’s true intentions and Dasu’s unexpected connection to the events.
Maria is a Tamil-language drama that follows the life of a nun who begins to experience personal desires, leading her to leave the monastery. After stepping away from the religious life, she finds herself drawn to a satanic cult.
The rest of the film explores her struggles within the cult, her quest for liberation, and her journey towards self-acceptance and normalcy. With Saishri Prabhakaran as the lead, the movie is slated for release on October 3, 2025.
Mutton Soup is a suspenseful family crime thriller that tells the tale of Sriram, a financier, born into an affluent family. After getting married, he and his wife experience several marital challenges, with one life-altering incident changing their relationship forever.
As a dangerous conspiracy brews beneath the surface, the movie explores the themes of greed, betrayal, and hidden intentions. The “mutton soup” becomes a symbolic thread in the gripping narrative.
Idli Kadai tells the story of Murugan, a young man from a humble background working at a prestigious restaurant chain. Despite his success, Murugan returns to his roots to take over his father’s local idli shop.
As he embarks on a journey of self-discovery and love, his former employer becomes his adversary, leading to a heated rivalry. What happens in Murugan’s life and why his former employee is standing against him forms the crux of the story.
Kantara Chapter 1: After Baahubali, KGF and Pushpa, Rishab Shetty-starrer to be next BIG…
The success of Pan-India films like Baahubali, KGF, and Pushpa has won people’s hearts. Following their footsteps, Kantara: Chapter 1 is poised to make a significant impact on the industry.
Films like Baahubali, KGF, and Pushpa have created history in Indian cinema. The second installments of all these films broke box office records and created a tremendous buzz among audiences. Now, Kantara: Chapter 1 is set to join this list. Following the immense success of Kantara, which was released in 2022, its prequel is now set to be released. The recently released trailer is full of thrilling scenes and stunning visuals, further raising expectations for the film. Just as Baahubali: The Beginning was followed by Baahubali: The Conclusion, KGF: Chapter 1 was followed by Chapter 2, and Pushpa: The Rise was followed by Pushpa 2: The Rule. Similarly, Kantara: Chapter 1 is emerging as a massive film. The audience’s excitement is evident from the response to the trailer. This film is also poised to become a pan-India franchise with its second part, writing a new chapter in Indian cinema.
All about Kantara: Chapter 1
Hombale Films has described Kantara: Chapter 1 as one of its biggest projects. The film’s team includes music director B. Ajaneesh Loknath, cinematographer Arvind Kashyap, and production designer Vineesh Bangalan. Notably, a major battle sequence was filmed across a 25-acre town, involving over 500 trained fighters and approximately 3,000 people. It took 45 to 50 days to shoot and is considered one of the largest sequences in Indian cinema.
Kantara Chapter 1 release date
The film will be released worldwide on October 2nd. Audiences will be able to watch it in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and English. Hombale Films says that Kantara: Chapter 1 is not just a film, but a confluence of faith, folklore, and cinematic grandeur. It aims to bring Indian culture to audiences on a pan-India scale and engage viewers with an immersive and memorable experience.
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Months after the release of Kantara, its actor-director Rishab Shetty continues to receive love for his Kannada action-thriller. In a recent conversation with Pinkvilla, Nawazuddin Siddiqui opened up about his December meeting with Rishab, and about his fondness for the star. Nawaz had posted pictures from their meeting on Instagram with the caption, “It was super amazing to spend some quality time with you @rishabshettyofficial & @pramodshettyk & team #kantara at my house. Surprisingly @rishabshettyofficial and I have so many things in common that we could talk about it endlessly.”
Elaborating about the meeting, Nawazuddin Siddiqui shared, “Rishab and his friends do a lot of theater, and one thing that is special is that our Gurus are the same. We have known each other from earlier, we have spoken earlier. So when he was here, he came over and we spoke. He is in touch with theater, and thank God he is still connected to his roots, his traditional form, and even made a film about it. So since our Gurus are the same, we have had a good association, we are even friends now.”
On possible collaboration
During their meeting did they discuss a possible collaboration, maybe for Kantara 2? “I can’t say anything now, but let’s hope. Why wouldn’t I want to work with him? He is a wonderful actor, director, and his whole team including Raj Shetty are very talented people,” Nawazuddin Siddiqui said.
Meanwhile, Nawaz is presently promoting Kushan Nandy’s Jogira Sara Ra Ra with Neha Sharma, which is scheduled to release on May 12.
Rishab Shetty’s Kannada action-thriller, Kantara, received a lot of love post its release last year, which is why when its prequel was announced in February this year, the fans were excited to know more about it. Reportedly, at a success bash held earlier this year in Bengaluru, the actor-director confirmed that he has already started scripting Kantara’s prequel, and the much awaited film will be unveiled in 2024. “With the blessing of almighty Daiva, the film has successfully completed 100 days and I would like to take this opportunity to announce the prequel of the film,” Rishab Shetty had earlier stated. Pinkvilla now has an exciting update on Kantara 2.
We have heard that Rishab will start shooting for the film in the second half of this year. “Just like the first part, Kantara’s prequel is also an extremely ambitious project for Rishab and Hombale Films, and they are leaving no stone unturned to live up to part 1. Rishab has already finished writing the first draft of the film, and his team has really liked the idea and the script. Since Rishab is a perfectionist, he will spend some more time on the script before he locks the final draft. In the meanwhile, research for the prequel is going on simultaneously, along with many other pre-production formalities are being discussed like costumes and location recce,” informs a source close to the development.
The idea behind Kantara’s prequel
Furthermore, at the same event in February 2023, Rishab Shetty had shared that the idea of a prequel had come to his mind, while he was shooting for Kantara. “It is because the history of Kantara has more depth to it. Currently, we are in the middle of digging into more details. As the research is still underway, it would be very early to reveal details about the film,” he had earlier said. Rishab has received a lot of awards for his performance in this 2022 movie.
Kantara is one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema, in the last few years. The film is based on the famous “Bhuta Kola” religious ritual that is still carried out by the Hindus of Tulu Nadu and Kasargod in northern Kerala, which ended up being a modern-day classic. Kantara was written and directed by Rishab Shetty, who also starred in the film as two generations of Bhuta Kola performers. The actor posted a new video on Twitter, where he is watching a live Bhuta Kola performer engaged in a religious performance. The video features a moment from the Nemotsava of Muttur Nattila Panjurli Deity.
Rishab Shetty shares a video of bhuta kola performance
The “Kantara” actor took to his Twitter account to post the video with the caption, “Nemotsava of Muttur Nattila Panjurli Deity #blessed # DaivaPanjurili”. The word Daiva Panjurulu refers to a spirit, commonly denoted by a boar that is worshipped to ward off the menace of wild boars to protect farmer’s crops. This ritual is closely linked to rural areas in parts of Karnataka and the Daiva Panjurili represents divine intervention, even though artists are dressed in costumes do the dancing and promise divine protection to civilians. Actor Rishab Shetty can be seen keenly praying during the performance and lost in the performance.
The Kantara Sequel
There are unofficial reports that there will be a prequel / sequel to “Kantara”, that will feature many of the same characters from the original film. The film starred Kishore, Achyut Kumar, and Sapthami Gowda. The main cast is believed to be returning for the sequel where Rishabh Shetty is rumored to be again playing dual roles. Kantara had its cinematography by
Kantara, the Kannada action thriller emerged as one of the biggest blockbusters of Indian cinema in 2022. The project, which is written and directed by Rishab Shetty, earned immense love from both the audiences and critics for its exceptional making and performances. Kantara also earned recognition at all the National and International platforms, has joined the Oscar race, and has qualified for two categories including Best Picture and Best Actor. Now, it is also confirmed that the Rishab Shetty starrer is getting a second part.
Rishab Shetty begins the scripting of Kantara prequel
In a recent interaction with Deadline, producer Vijay Kiragandur who produced Kantara under the prestigious banner Hombale Films confirmed that the project is indeed getting a second part. Interestingly, Vijay also revealed that the second part will be a prequel to the blockbuster outing, and confirmed that Rishab Shetty has already begun the scripting for the project. “Rishab is writing the story now and has gone to the forests of coastal Karnataka with his writing associates for two months to conduct research for the film,” stated the producer.
“Rishab is planning to start shooting in June, as a portion of the shoot requires the rainy season. And, our intention is to give the film a pan-India release in April or May next year,” added Vijay Kiragandur in his interaction with Deadline.
Kantara joins the Oscar race
The Rishab Shetty directorial has been qualified for the Oscars, thus emerging as the second South Indian film to reach the race this year after RRR, the blockbuster period drama directed by SS Rajamouli. The highly exciting update was announced by leading man-director Rishab Shetty himself, with a Twitter post that reads: “We are overjoyed to share that ‘Kantara’ has received 2 Oscar qualifications! A heartfelt thank you to all who have supported us. We look forward to share this journey ahead with all of your support. Can’t wait to see it shine at the #Oscars #Kantara @hombalefilms #HombaleFilms.”
Check out Rishab Shetty’s post below:
About Kantara
Kantara, which revolves around the regional ritual dance form named Bhoota Kola, narrates the story of Kaadubettu Shiva and his father in the backdrop of coastal Karnataka. Rishab Shetty appeared in a double role as the central character Kaadubettu Shiva and his father in the movie, which features Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar, Pramod Shetty, Prakash Tuminad, Naveen D Padil, and others in the pivotal roles. Kantara is bankrolled by Vijay Kiragandur, under the banner Hombale Films. The project, which was originally released only in Kannada, was later dubbed into Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages after it received exceptional reviews from both the audiences and film industry members.
After SS Rajamouli, another South film that has reached the Oscars 2023 is Rishab Shetty‘s blockbuster entertainer Kantara. The divine drama, which earned applause worldwide, has now qualified for the Academy Awards contention list under two categories. The film is reportedly qualified for the Oscars under the Best Picture and Best Actor categories.
Rishab Shetty on Tuesday took to Twitter and announced that Kantara has received two Oscar qualifications ahead of the nomination list announcement. However, they didn’t mention the Oscars qualifications categories. The Kantara actor and the director wrote on Twitter, “We are overjoyed to share that ‘Kantara’ has received 2 Oscar qualifications! A heartfelt thank you to all who have supported us. We look forward to share this journey ahead with all of your support. Can’t wait to see it shine at the #Oscars #Kantara @hombalefilms #HombaleFilms.”
Take a look at Rishab Shetty’s Kantara announcement for Oscars
This means that the film is eligible for Oscar members to cast a vote to push it through to the main nominations. The nominations for the Oscars will be announced on January 24. The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 12, 2023.
About Kantara
Rishab Shetty’s Kantara proved that when content is good, language is not a factor. Kantara was always intended to be a Kannada release alone and despite the language barrier, the film performed tremendously well in all the different regions through the aid of English subtitles. The film was later released in all South languages and Hindi.
Kantara, which is written and directed by Rishab Shetty, is set in the backdrop of the Keraadi region of coastal Karnataka. The actor-filmmaker has also played the lead role in the blockbuster movie, which is bankrolled by Vijay Kiragandur under the prestigious banner Hombale Films.
The highly acclaimed film features Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar, Pramod Shetty, and others in pivotal roles. Ajaneesh Loknath composed the music for Kantara. Arvind S Kashyap is the director of photography. The film crossed the Rs 400-crore mark in gross collections worldwide, making it only the second Kannada film ever to do so.
Indian films for the Oscars
In October 2022, the Gujarati movie Last Film Show (Chello Show) was announced as India’s official entry to the prestigious award night. The film has been selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.
SS Rajamouli, Ram Charan, and Jr NTR’s Naatu Naatu song from RRR has also been shortlisted in the Best Original Song category.
For unversed, the makers of SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus sent the ‘For Your Consideration’ campaign for the Academy award nominations. The blockbuster movie submitted in 14 categories, including Best Motion Picture, Best Director (SS Rajamouli), Best Actor in a lead role (Ram Charan and Jr NTR), Best Actors in a supporting role (Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn), and others. Veteran musician SS Keeravani is also in the race for Oscar nominations, in the Best Original Score category.
Rishab Shetty’s Kantara also submitted nominations for the Oscars 2023 in December. In an interview with India Today, the producer of Kantara, Vijay Kirgandur confirmed the same and said they are hoping for the best. The producer said, “We have submitted our application for Oscars for Kantara and have our fingers crossed as the final nominations are yet to come.” He mentioned that Kantara as a story is so rooted that we hope it can find a voice worldwide as well.
2 Shettys of Kannada Cinema- Rishab Shetty and Rakshit Shetty had a phenomenal 2022. Kantara starring Rishab and Rakshit’s 777 Charlie claimed their place on the table among the list of other top South Indian films. Now, Rishab surprises his fans yet again by sharing a picture-perfect moment with Rakshit Shetty and Pramod.
Fans literally can’t keep calm as they wait to see Rishab Shetty and Rakshit Shetty together in a film soon. A Twitter user commented, “Frnds reunion”, while a few others wrote, “Richard Anthony loading”.
One of the comments on the photo read, “Fantastic group, all the best, keep entertaining us and God bless you all.”
Take a look at the photo below:
For the unversed, a thriller-action titled Richard Anthony with Rakshit Shetty has been on cards since a very long time. The film is a spin-off from Rakshit’s directorial venture, Ulidavaru Kandanthe. The film also has Pramod Shetty in an important role.
Rakshit Shetty is making his grand directorial comeback with Richard Anthony- Lord of The Sea and the announcement of the same was made last year. Rakshit had tweeted, “I have always believed that my work should speak for me first and only then words should follow… Here it is…When the tide brings back the dead, the shores bleed red.Returning to where it all began, #RichardAnthony – Lord of the sea.”
Producer Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films is backing the project. Now, it will be interesting to see if Rishab is also a part of Richard Anthony or not.
Ram Charan and wife Upasana expecting their first child. SS Rajamouli’s RRR lands two Golden Globe nominations. Jawan director Atlee, and wife Krishna Priya expecting their first child. Here is the recap of the top south entertainment news of the week.
Rishab Shetty’s Kannada action-thriller Kantara has been garnering praise from all over the world, and recently Rajinikanth also heaped praise on this recently released film. “‘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,” the superstar actor wrote on Twitter.
Soon after Rishab went and met Rajinikanth. In a recent conversation with Pinkvilla, the Kantara actor opened up about this meeting. “I met him and spent almost one hour with him. That was a big fanboy moment for me. We spoke about every scene, how I did it, how I executed them, and about his spiritual journey too. That was a wonderful moment,” says Rishab.
He further adds, “Main bachpan se bahut bada fan hun (I have been a big fan of his ever since I was a child). As a lead actor my first film was Bell Bottom, and I had tried imitating him in that film. In the song sequence, I tried one of his styles. I told him about that, and he laughed about it.”
Being inspired by Dr. Rajkumar
Meanwhile, Rishab says that he wanted to become an actor ever since he was in the sixth standard. “I was involved in folk art, and my interest in the field had developed from then.” He was always inspired by late actor Dr. Rajkumar. “He is the biggest inspiration. I used to see him on TV, and even my mother is a big fan of Dr. Rajkumar. So much so that even when she would be busy with work, and his song would appear on television, she would stop everything and start watching it. I also used to mimic him when I was a child,” Rishab Shetty concludes.
The Hindi version of the Rishab Shetty-starrer Kantara is going from strength to strength at the box office. The film has collected Rs 47.55 crore in the end of its second week in theatres and is set to hit the Rs 50 crore mark soon. The Hindi version of the Yash-starrer KGF-Chapter 1, on the other hand, collected a total of Rs 44.09 crore in its lifetime collections.
The Rishab Shetty and Sapthami Gowda-starrer raked in Rs 2.75 crore on Friday, Rs 4.10 crore on Saturday, Rs 4.40 crore on Sunday, Rs 2.30 crore on Monday and Rs 2.30 crore Tuesday, as per film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
Kantara is centred around a local demigod who trades forest land to the tribe’s people with a king in the 1870s in exchange for happiness and also has traditions of Kambala (annual bull race) and Bhootha Kola (traditional involving spirit worship). The film features Rishab Shetty as Kaadubbetu Shiva and his father.
Besides Shetty, it features Sapthami Gowda, Achyuth Kumar, Kishore, Manasi Sudhir and Pramod Shetty in pivotal roles. Hombale Films, known for KGF franchise and Prabhas’ upcoming film Salaar, has backed the film.
The latest pan-India offering from Sandalwood or Kannada film industry has garnered massive praise from people across film industries like Sivaji The Boss and Robot actor Rajinikanth, The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri, Manikarnika actor Kangana Ranaut, Allu Arjun, KGF director Prashanth Neel, Jana Gana Mana actor Prithviraj Sukumaran and Urmila Matondkar.
While the Hindi version of Kantara was released on October 14, Tamil and Telugu versions were out on October 15. The Malayalam version was released on October 20 under Prithviraj Sukumaran’s banner Prithviraj Productions.
The Kozhikode sessions court issued an order on October 28, Friday, which has now become a major turning point in the Kantara plagiarism row. As per the reports, the court has directed the makers of Kantara to stop playing the controversial ‘Varaha Roopam’ song in the theatres. The Kozhikode sessions court issued an injunction barring the makers from playing the ‘Varaha Roopam’ song, after receiving a plagiarism lawsuit from the popular Malayalam music band, Thaikkudam Bridge. The song is also barred from all the major streaming platforms.
Thaikkudam Bridge takes a firm stand on Kantara plagiarism row
The renowned music band had earlier made it clear that they will take legal action against the creative team of Kantara for copying their popular number, ‘Navarasa’. Thaikkudam Bridge took to their official social media handles and revealed that the Kozhikode sessions issued an injunction order against playing ‘Varaha Roopam’ on theatres and streaming platforms, on the ground of copyright infringement. “The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kozhikode has injuncted the producer, director, music composer, Amazon, YouTube, Spotify, Wynk Music, Jiosavan, and others from playing the song Varaaha Roopam in the film Kantara without the permission of Thaikudam Bridge,” reads the band’s post.
Kantara Plagiarism Row
For the uninitiated, Kantara became a subject of controversy after Thaikkudam Bridge alleged that the song ‘Varaha Roopam’ is copied from the popular number ‘Navarasa’. The celebrated Indie band’s allegations were backed by many film industry members and music lovers, who declared their support for Thaikkudam Bridge on social media. The makers of Kantara claimed that both songs are similar because they are based on the same raga, but Thaikkudam Bridge refused to accept this clarification. The latest updates confirm that the music band is determined to proceed with legal action.
Kantara and its massive success
The movie, which is written and directed by Rishab Shetty, who has also played the lead role in it, has emerged as one of the biggest successes of Indian cinema in recent times. The actor thriller which is set in the backdrop of the coastal Karnataka region has been receiving immense love from the audiences for its excellent writing, making, and performances. Kantara is now dubbed in all major Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.
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.
