Kantara Chapter 1 trailer: Rishab Shetty's Berme finds a formidable foe in Gulshan Devaiah's Kulashekhara

A tale exploring the ancient roots of the Bhuta Kola ritual and the mythological lore surrounding divine land guardianship – that’s what Kantara Chapter 1 has been rumoured to be about. But is that really what’s in store for audiences come October 2, 2025, when the film hits theatres? Going by the trailer that was released on September 22, it appears that Rishab is mixing a lesson in divine mythology with a fight of good vs evil and some romance thrown in as well. 

Trailer of Kantara Chapter 1 out now

In the trailer, Rishab is Berme, a tribal, where his people are forced to provide a sizeable share of their cultivations with the royal family. What happens when they decide to stop this system forms the crux of the story. Berme's relationship with Kanakavathi is also at the core of the conflict between the royal family and the tribals, with Gulshan Devaiah's Kulashekhara a formidable foe for him.  

In the aftermath of the monumental success of 2022’s Kantara, and that Rishab had ended the film with the possibility of a sequel, the question was what he would do next if it were to become a franchise. He finally said that what audiences had seen was Kantara 2 and that he would do Kantara 1 next. Armed with a much bigger budget (rumoured to be around Rs 120 cr), Rishab spent the next three years in the writing and making of the film, shooting it at a closely guarded set in the forests of Karnataka’s mountains, which meant that no visuals of any kind from the making were leaked.

Also read: Kantara Chapter 1’s pre-release business: Rishab Shetty’s much-awaited prequel is already in profit 

Rishab co-wrote the script with Shaneel Gautham, who was part of Kantara also, but found more fame recently as one of the leads in the hit comedy Su From So, and Anirudh Mahesh. Music is yet again by B Ajaneesh Loknath, while Rishab’s trusted DOP Arvind Kashyap is in charge of the visual spectacle. The cast includes Rukmini Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah, Jayaram, Pramod Shetty, PD Sathish Chandra, Prakash Thuminad, among others. 

Also read: Kantara review: Spotlight's firmly on Rishab Shetty in this glorious piece of story-telling 

Kantara Chapter 1 is, according to reports, releasing with paid premieres across the country and abroad on October 1, with the official theatrical outing starting on October 2. The film is being released in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and English. The digital rights have been procured by Amazon Prime Video, with the film expected to drop after the 56th day, as was the case with the 2022 original.

FAQs

Q. Are Kantara and Kantara: Chapter 1 the same?

A. No, they are separate films in the same franchise, both written and directed by Rishab Shetty. Kantara released in 2022, while Kantara: Chapter 1 is expected to hit theatres on October 2, 2025. Chapter 1 is the prequel of the original film and is supposedly an exploration of the origin of the Panjurli Daiva, among others.

Q. Whose avatar is Panjurli Daiva?

A. Panjurli Daiva is considered an avatar of Lord Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation. Panjurli, according to folklore, was a wild boar, who was slain by Lord Shiva and then revived to become a divine protector.