Kantara Movie (2022):
Kantara (English: Mystical Forest) is a Kannada action thriller film written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. The cinematography was handled by Arvind S. Kashyap, with B. Ajaneesh Loknath scoring music for the film and the action sequences were choreographed by the action director Vikram More. The production design was handled by debutant, Dharani Gange Putra.
The film stars Shetty as a Kambala champion who is at loggerheads with an upright forest officer, Murali (played by Kishore). Kantara was released on 30 September 2022 and received acclaim from critics, who praised the cast performances (particularly those of Shetty and Kishore), direction, writing, production design, cinematography, proper showcasing of the Bhoota Kola, action sequences, editing, soundtrack, and musical score. The film was a huge commercial success and emerged as the second highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, as well as the second highest-grossing Kannada film of 2022.
Kantara Movie Information:
| Movie Name | Kantara |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action Drama Thriller |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Release Date | September 30, 2022 (India) |
| Running Time | 2h 28m |
| Starring | Rishab Shetty Kishore Achuth Kumar Sapthami Gowda Pramod Shetty Vinay Biddappa |
| Directed by | Rishab Shetty |
| Written by | Rishab Shetty |
| Produced by | Vijay Kiragandur |
| Cinematography by | Arvind S Kashyap |
| Edited by | Pratheek Shetty K M Prakash |
| Music by | B Ajaneesh Loknath |
| Production Company | Hombale Films |
| Distributed by | Hindi: AA Films Telugu: Geetha Arts Malayalam: Prithviraj Productions |
| Budget | ₹16 crore |
| Box Office Collection | ₹400 crore (US$50 million) |
Kantara Movie Trailer:
Kantara Movie Storyline (Plot/Synopsis):
It involves the culture of Kambla and Bhootha Kola. A human and nature conflict where Shiva is the rebellion who works against nature. A loop leads to war between villagers and evil forces. Will he be able to replace peace in the village?
Kantara Movie Cast and Characters:
- Rishab Shetty as Kaadubettu Shiva and Shiva’s father
- Sapthami Gowda as Leela
- Kishore as Muralidhar, a Deputy Range Forest Officer (D.R.F.O) officer
- Achyuth Kumar as Devendra Suttooru
- Pramod Shetty as Sudhakara
- Shanil Guru as Bulla
- Prakash Thuminad as Raampa
- Manasi Sudhir as Kamala, Shiva’s mother
- Naveen D Padil as Lawyer
- Swaraj Shetty as Guruva, Shiva’s cousin brother.
- Deepak Rai Panaaje as Sundara
- Rishab Shetty as Kaadubettu Shiva and Shiva’s father
- Sapthami Gowda as Leela
- Kishore as Muralidhar, a Deputy Range Forest Officer (D.R.F.O) officer
- Achyuth Kumar as Devendra Suttooru
- Pramod Shetty as Sudhakara
- Shanil Guru as Bulla
- Prakash Thuminad as Raampa
- Manasi Sudhir as Kamala, Shiva’s mother
- Naveen D Padil as Lawyer
- Swaraj Shetty as Guruva, Shiva’s cousin brother.
- Deepak Rai Panaaje as Sundara
Kantara Movie Soundtrack:
The film’s music is composed by B Ajaneesh Loknath.
Interesting Facts About Kantara Movie:
- Set and filmed in Keradi in coastal Karnataka, principal photography began in August 2021.
- Kantara was released in more than 250 theatres across Karnataka, and simultaneously in the US, UK, Europe, Middle East and Australia among other places globally.
- After the success in Kannada, the makers announced that the film will be dubbed in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam languages and was released on 14 October 2022 in Hindi and 15 October 2022 in Telugu and Tamil.
- Though the Hindi version was announced to be released in over 800 screens across the country, later it was reported to be released in 2500 screens in the Hindi version.
- The film was also dubbed into Tulu language, the native language of the coastal Karnataka and was released on 2 December 2022 and was well received by the audience.
- It became the first Kannada movie to be released in Vietnam.
- The satellite rights of the film were secured by Star Suvarna in Kannada, Star Vijay in Tamil, Star Maa in Telugu, Asianet in Malayalam and Sony Max in Hindi.
- The digital rights of the film were secured by Amazon Prime Video, and was digitally streamed from 24 November 2022 in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil languages.
- The Hindi version was streamed on Netflix from 9 December 2022, and was also announced by the platform that an English dubbed version of the film will be available for streaming in January 2023.
- The Karnataka State Government announced a monthly allowance for Bhoota kola performers over 60 years of age due to the movie.
- It was later speculated that Rishabh Shetty might produce Kantara 2, a sequel to the first part. It was said that in Mangalore, Shetty had sought the permission of the god Panjurli, who gave the consent to make the film with 3 warnings. The release date is unknown.
