Director: Rishabh Shetty
Producer: Vijay Kiragandur (Hombale Films)
Cast: Rishabh Shetty, Achyuth Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Sapthami Gowda
Kantara is the latest directorial venture of Rishabh Shetty who is on a winning streak with both, his acting and directorial stints.
Kantara which loosely translates to a ‘mysterious forest’, lives up to its title.
Our filmmakers have always had enough of material to work with when it comes to conflicts between man and the environment. Even though it deals with the same idea, Rishab Shetty’s Kantara makes an effort to be unique and succeeds in doing so by remaining grounded and genuine.
As they say, looks can be deceiving, it worked in the favor of Kantara. The marketing team of Kantara kept the plot of the movie as mysterious as the forest in the movie. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seats till the end by giving you a steady dose of goosebumps throughout the movie.
What starts off as a film about the folklore and culture of a small region in the coastal part of Karnataka, soon makes its way into human vs. nature conflict, the battle of egos, a love story, and the divine mystery of the forest itself.
Rishabh Shetty aces it both as a director and the lead actor in this movie. But you will definitely come out of the cinema hall, praising the actor Rishabh Shetty more than the director because of what he pulls off in the last 20 mins of the movie. Shiva is brilliantly portrayed by actor Rishab, who gives life to this unusual character. For this part, he underwent a significant and severe change, and the results are obvious. Rishab will undoubtedly receive cheers and applause from the audience for his performance in the suspenseful conclusion. In Kantara, Sapthami Gowda gives a respectable performance as Shiva’s love interest and forest guard Leela. Kishore and Achyuth both put on strong performances, and it is enjoyable to see Kishore’s passionate ego conflicts with Shiva. The acting of Manasi Sudhir, Pramod Shetty, and Prakash Thuminad is also respectable.
Arvind Kashyap’s cinematography is something that will make you wonder how they shot something like this. The visuals of the movie are something that will stay with you long after the film is over.
In Kantara, composer Ajaneesh Loknath excels. His folk songs are calming, but the background music highlights Kantara’s story.
Additionally, Kantara examines certain important topics like caste prejudice. Even though there isn’t a dedicated comedy track, several of the characters have enough peculiarities to up the fun factor. The narration in the movie is clear, and the well-staged action scenes deserve particular praise.
Even though the love story between Shiva and Leela contributes to the story in some way, it could have been reduced to keep the pacing of the film brisk. This is the only department where the film takes a hit.
The movie has a fantastic conclusion at the end, which is unquestionably Kantara’s USP. In Kantara, different points of view are presented, and Rishab, who also wrote and directed the movie, does a fantastic job of bringing them all together.
In conclusion, Kantara is a technical and aesthetic masterpiece by Rishabh Shetty. It deserves to be watched in the theatres.
Still undecided whether to watch it or not? Watch the trailer below if you haven’t watched it yet.
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