Not Rudraparayag; Gulshan Devaiah gets Kantara Chapter 1 with Rishab Shetty

Exactly two years ago, when actor Gulshan Devaiah was in Bengaluru to promote his Hindi show Guns & Gulaabs, he had spoken about his wish to act in a Kannada film, which almost took shape, but then was discarded during the pandemic. Gulshan, as it turns out, was meant to collaborate with actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty on a film called Rudraprayag, which would also star Padma Bhushan Anant Nag and Shraddha Srinath. The project, though, did not take off and Rishab went on to do Kantara instead. Gulshan had said that he’d love to work with Rishab, either on Rudraprayag or anything else.

Bengaluru boy Gulshan Devaiah speaks fluent Kannada

That “anything else” turned out to be the much-awaited Kantara prequel, Kantara: Chapter 1, which will be in theatres on October 2, 2025. After keeping details about the film tightly under wraps, the makers have begun to make cast revelations. Shortly on the heels of the announcement that Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’s Rukmini Vasanth is in the film, they have confirmed Gulshan as Kulashekara. Considering that Gulshan speaks fluent Kannada, his casting makes perfect sense for Rishab in terms of having ‘local’ talent onboard, while also adding some Bollywood glamour.

Also read: Exclusive! Gulshan Devaiah: I would love to do Rudraprayag with Rishab Shetty if it is revived 

The mythological action drama, written and directed by Rishab, is said to be steeped in regional folklore, with audiences expecting an origin tale for Panjurli Daiva. Meanwhile, it was earlier reported that Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is a part of Kantara: Chapter 1, a development that the team did not confirm or deny. At the time, it was also said that Rishab had been approached for a role in a Mohanlal film, which he’d declined to focus on the Kantara prequel.

With less than a month and a half to go for Kantara: Chapter 1’s theatrical outing, a lot more interesting announcements are to be expected in the days to come. Ajaneesh Loknath, who’d scored for 2022’s Kantara returns as music composer, while Arvind Kashyap was retained as cinematographer. The film is expected to be dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali for a simultaneous outing with the Kannada original.

FAQs

Q. What is Rishab Shetty's remuneration for Kantara: Chapter 1?

A. Rishab Shetty is reportedly charging Rs 100 cr as his remuneration to write, direct and act in Kantara: Chapter 1, besides a profit sharing agreement with the makers. 

Q, Where will Kantara: Chapter 1 stream after its theatrical run?

A. Amazon Prime Video has acquired the streaming rights of Kantara: Chapter 1.