#KantaraForOscars trends: Netizens say Rishab Shetty’s film ought to be sent to the Academy

In the nearly three weeks since its theatrical release, Rishab Shetty’s latest directorial, Kantara, has enthralled everyone who’s seen it. There’s been so much love for the film’s brilliant story-telling, visuals, and its focus on the cultures and traditions of coastal Karnataka. From the very start, everyone’s been appreciative of the performances, especially that of Rishab, whose outing as Shiva is being seen as deserving of acting awards.

And now, it’s gone yet another step further with netizens calling for Kantara to be sent to the Oscars. Within no time, the hashtag #KantaraForOscars began trending with the recommendation that the film be given a proper international release in accordance with Academy guidelines for lateral entry to the long list of nominations, much like what RRR is doing. At present, Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show is the official Indian entry for next year’s Oscar Awards.

Here's a look at what netizens are saying in this regard:

The film, which has done phenomenal business in its original Kannada version, and the dubbed Hindi, Telugu and Tamil versions too, is the highest-ranking Indian movie on IMDB, which is quite a distinction by itself. Conservative estimates put its lifetime gross at around Rs 300 crore, which will be higher than that of KGF: Chapter 1.

The satellite and digital rights of the film had been sold prior to its theatrical release, with Asianet Suvarna and Amazon Prime Video picking them up. The digital premiere is expected in early November (November 4, perhaps), but that could either be pushed ahead, with the makers and the streamer coming to an understanding, given the film’s outstanding box office performance, or it could be made available to subscribers and non-subscribers on the platform’s store for a rental.

Rishab’s film, which also stars Sapthami Gowda, Kishore and Achyuth Kumar in pivotal roles, follows a man vs man and man vs nature conflict story.