Kantara: Barah by Barah filmmaker Gaurav Madan calls Rishab Shetty’s film regressive and misogynistic

When Rishab Shetty made and presented his latest directorial Kantara to audiences, he was clear that it was a rooted story that celebrates the culture and traditions of coastal Karnataka, specifically the Kundapura region. This is also why he released the film only in Kannada initially. The film was widely appreciated from Day 1, with the craze around it growing by the day. In the month that it has been at the box office, Kantara has become the film with the highest footfalls for production house Hombale Films in Karnataka. It has also grossed over Rs 200 crore globally so far.

There’s been a lot of love coming Rishab’s way since the film’s release, with pretty much everyone calling it a masterpiece in story-telling, with special emphasis on the last 20-30 minutes, which puts the spotlight on daiva aradhane and Bhoota kola as practised in the region. These scenes have given the film the moniker divine blockbuster. In fact, for the longest time, Kantara was the highest rated film even on IMDB.

Kantara was subsequently dubbed into Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam following immense demand, and while the film has largely been gathering more fans and love, there are some voices against it too. Like, for instance, filmmaker Gaurav Madan. The Barah by Barah maker took to social media to voice his thoughts about the film that he thought was regressive, misogynistic and cacophonically vulgar, among other things.

Here's what he said, “Seeing everyone celebrate Kantara like it’s the most precious cinematic gift to the mankind makes my heart sink. It is one of the most regressive and misogynistic films I have seen in recent times. This film that all the men and women of our country are hurraying is obscenely loud, cacophonically vulgar and screams of toxic masculinity! The way camera looked at human bodies and even buffaloes made me gravely uncomfortable. I had pungent mud in my eyes, throat and stomach and it solidified into a discomforting mass in my gut when I read all the glowing reviews and interviews with the makers. These are the same makers who have backed amazingly sensible work such as Pedro and Shivamma. I can’t believe how something so cringeworthy can emerge out of the same sensibilities! It’s been two weeks since I walked out of the theatre and I still feel nauseated. It’s not the film but a question - Do we really know what we are celebrating?”

Since Gaurav’s post came out there have been a few who supported his views.