Premium100 days of Kantara: Kudos to everyone who made it happen, says Rishab Shetty
The rooted story was released in Kannada only on September 30, but following its rousing reception at the box office and demand for dubbed versions, the makers brought the other language versions to theatres within two weeks
Last Updated: 09.52 PM, Jan 07, 2023
When Rishab Shetty made Kantara, it was meant to be a ‘small’ film for Kannada audiences only. Although it was produced by Hombale Films, known for biggies like Raajakumara, Yuvarathnaa, KGF, among others, Kantara was a rooted story that did not require a massive scale, so, it was not even dubbed for consumption by audiences in other parts of the country. Dubbing, reckoned the team, could be done in time for the film’s OTT outing.
But when it then released on September 30, the mannina kathe took on a life of its own and took the box office by storm. The response to Kantara was literally overwhelming, so much so that the makers were forced to advance the dubbing plans and release the film in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, within two weeks of the Kannada version. Over two months, Kantara amassed a whopping Rs 400 crore at the box office, becoming the film with the highest footfall for a Hombale Films production.
The film had some temporary legal issues, when a copyright claim was made against its hit number Varaha Roopam. The Ajaneesh Loknath composition was alleged to have been lifted from Kerala-based band Thaikkudam Bridge’s Navarasam. The song had to be removed from streaming services and when Kantara dropped on Amazon Prime video in its Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam versions, there was a different version of it playing at the end of the film. The suit was later dismissed and the song reinstated, in time for the premiere of the Hindi version on Netflix.
Although Kantara has been on OTT for a while, it continues to be in select movie halls as well and still draws sizeable crowds. Such is the appeal for the ‘divine blockbuster’ that it has now clocked a successful 100 days at the box office. Taking to social media, director-actor Rishab Shetty and makers Hombale Films wrote, “Celebrating #DivineBlockbusterKantara 100 Days 🙏A film we’ll always cherish, that took us back to our roots n made us fell in awe of our traditions. Kudos everyone who made it happen. #Kantara #100DaysOfKantara.”