Rishab Shetty's Kantara 2 to be launched with grand muhurtha on August 27

For the last few months, Kannada actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty has sequestered himself back home in Mangaluru, where he has not only been working on the script for the highly-anticipated second instalment in the Kantara franchise, but also training in certain disciplines in preparation for his role. The film, we hear, will be officially launched on August 27, with a grand muhurtha, with shooting set to begin sometime in September.

Rishab’s Kantara, which released in September last year, was one of the biggest hits of the year, amassing over Rs 400 crore at the box office. Made at a modest budget, the rooted story, which producers Hombale Films released in Kannada only as “Namma mannina kathe”, became an overnight hit and took on a life of its own. Such was the positive feedback for the film that within days of its release, there was demand for dubbed versions to be released in different parts of the country. The team was not prepared, thinking that dubbed versions were needed only in time for the OTT debut, but within two weeks, they had to have Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam versions out.

The film, which explored the story of Shiva, whose father, a daiva narthaka, had mysteriously disappeared in the forests of Kadubetta. Growing up with a disdain for the holy art, the narrative follows how Shiva goes on to follow in his father’s footsteps and disappears just like the latter had. When it was then later announced that Rishab was planning another film to make it a franchise, it was speculated that he could either do a prequel to explore the origins of the daivas and daiva narthaka tradition, or a sequel, since Shiva leaves behind a heavily-pregnant wife.

Read also: Exclusive! Rishab Shetty undergoing horse-riding training for Kantara 2 

Rishab chose to go with the former and although it is not clear what narrative he will follow in the film, he has been taking horse-riding and kalarippayattu lessons for several months now. While the cast for the Kantara prequel remains undisclosed, Rishab is collaborating once again with composer Ajaneesh Loknath and cinematographer Arvind Kashyap. Filming for the movie is scheduled to begin in September, although the official announcement regarding the finalization is still pending.