Kantara Movie Review: Kannada film ‘Kantara’ is getting a lot of praise these days. The film released in cinemas on 30 September. It is produced by Hombale Films which produced KGF. As soon as the Hindi trailer of the film arrived, its release in North India was awaited. ‘Kantara’ has hit the theaters on October 14. The way the craze of South’s film has increased in recent times, there are a lot of expectations about ‘Kantara’. After the response to the trailer, will the film live up to those expectations, let us know in this report.
Film with mythology connection
The kind of hype that has been created about ‘Kantara’, whichever audience will go to the theatre, the expectations will be the same. Action, adventure, belief and mythology come together in the film. It is one of the best efforts by an Indian filmmaker in recent times. It is often heard that Indian cinema is forgetting its roots because of the wealth of stories hidden in a country of so much diversity. A good storyteller in ‘Kantara’ tells the story from the ground up with the knowledge and technical skills of filmmaking.
What is the story
‘Kantara’ is the story of a small village. The culture and mythology of the coastal areas of Karnataka are woven into the film with ease and simplicity. The story of the film is about a village in South Karnataka where a king gave land to the villagers 150 years ago. Then comes the year 1990, where the story of the film is set. An honest forest officer (Kishore) is trying to stop the felling of trees and hunting in the land which is now a reserve forest. The matter becomes difficult as the villagers believe that the forest is a boon from their deities. The forest gods are protectors so they are in no mood to listen to outsiders. Against this, the village’s mighty Shiva (Rishabh Shetty) stands up. He is supported by the village sahib (Achyut Kumar), a descendant of the king.
Excellent cinematography and direction
The film has beautiful cinematography by Arvind Kashyap. Any storyteller should learn from the way he has brought folktales to life in ‘Kantara’ through his lens. The background score and music of the film is by Ajneesh Loknath which is so in sync with the camera work that he is worthy of praise. Rishabh’s performance as Shiva is less to be praised. His direction and screenplay add magical colors to the screen. A film of about two and a half hours never seems to weaken. The film captures the local festivities and customs in a colourful, glamorous manner. The climax, while being a completely masala Indian film, takes the film to another level.
Film heading towards 100 crore club
Box office collections also tell. The film is inching towards 100 crores. The success of this film will determine whether other producers will be able to dare to tell the original stories.
