Premium1 Year of Kantara: Fans reminisce about Rishab Shetty’s cinematic masterpiece
It's a year since the divine blockbuster hit theatres. Actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty will soon begin work on Kantara 2
Last Updated: 05.31 PM, Sep 30, 2023
A year ago, when actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty and production house Hombale Films were preparing to release Kantara, they presented it as a rooted ‘mannina kathe’, which they hoped would resonate with the people of Karnataka. The film was being released only in Kannada at the time, as no one knew that Kantara was set to take wing and soar majestically almost immediately. Following the release of the film, everything changed almost immediately. Audiences just could not stop raving about Rishab’s film, which, despite being an intrinsically local subject with cultural references of coastal Karnataka, struck a chord with everyone who’d watched the film.
The last 15-minutes of Kantara became the most talked about, as Rishab’s character Shiva seemingly gets possessed by the vengeful deity Guliga and unleashes his violent self on an army of men sent by Devendra (Achyuth Kumar) and eventually kills the latter too. Later, Shiva is seen performing the Bhoothakola, embodying Panjurli’s spirit, much like his father did before him, and then disappears into the thick of the forest. Soon enough, the divine nature of the film became its driving force.
“ One of the greatest climax I have ever seen It's 1 year for the cinematic masterpiece. A big Thanks to @shetty_rishab for bringing this gem to us #kantara will be always close to me, an cinematic experience that I will never forget #RishabShettyKantara,” wrote Manuj Rajput. Sharing a glimpse of the climax, Akash Acharya wrote, “Cinema at its finest, A cinematic experience that will live long in my memory.” Prema Gupta’s tweet read, “Time flies! A year ago, we witnessed @shetty_rishab 's phenomenal acting in #Kantara! That climax scene, unforgettable! 🌟#RishabShettyKantara". There were many similar comments on social media about Kantara and how great a cinematic experience the climax was.
Incidentally, not many know that Rishab had a lot of help in putting the Bhoothakola sequences together. Raj B Shetty wrote and choreographed the same for Rishab. Following the success of Kantara, Rishab then announced Kantara 2 as his next and later revealed that he was making a prequel, which, according to rumours, will explore the origin story of Panjurli daiva. Rishab, we hear, is giving finishing touches to the script and is set to go on floors shortly.