Kantara: Did you know that Rishab Shetty shot his Kambala sequence without a body double

In just over a week, audiences across the world will get the see the world of Kantara as actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty envisioned it, in its full glory. While we got to see glimpses in the teaser and the subsequent trailer, wherein the kambala (bull racing) sequence featuring Rishab was a major highlight, what we didn’t know was that the actor-director did not use a body double to film those scenes.

Earlier today, as part of the promotions of the film, which releases in theatres on September 30, Rishab had released Episode 1 of The World Of Kantara, a series that will delve into the nitty-gritties that went into the making of Kantara. Turns out, the Kambala scene was not part of his plan when Rishab initially wrote the story of the film. It was only when he began ideating about how to establish his character Shiva and the rage in him that Rishab thought of Kambala – the raw power of the racing bulls, the man in charge and the fierceness of the spectacle lined up perfectly to achieve what he set to out show.

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The actual filming took him about 24 hours to get all the possible shots from different camera angles, which also meant that he had to give a take, come and check on the monitor if it was okay, indeed, and then go back for another, since he was multi-tasking as actor and director. In the run-up to the shoot, though, cinematographer Aravind Kashyap was not sure if Rishab could indeed pull it off and began planning scenarios with a body double, without compromising on the immersive experience. But Rishab was determined to do it himself, although he knew that it would not be easy. Part 1 of The World of Kantara provides an insight into the physically taxing training and execution of the Kambala sequence.