Rishab Shetty expands 'Kantara: Chapter 1' on a grander, if slightly stretched, canvas

World-building in cinema is always a challenge — but when done right, it becomes the key to lasting impact. It's one of the reasons why franchises like Marvel and Avatar have resonated with audiences worldwide. Closer home, it's this very quality that helped Dominic Arun's ‘Lokah’ leave a mark.

Similarly, Rishab Shetty’s 'Kantara' is a testament to masterful storytelling, with Shetty — as writer, director, and actor — crafting an immersive world rooted in the heartlands of coastal Karnataka, and centered around the mystical forest of Kantara, the ‘garden of god’. When 'Kantara' became a breakout success three years ago, much of the magnificence was attributed to the director’s skill in crafting a world deeply embedded in local culture and tradition.

This strong focus on a culturally grounded narrative sets 'Kantara' apart from other mythological films, which largely relied on retellings of stories from the Mahabharata and other ancient scriptures.

Now, Rishab has returned with the prequel, ‘Kantara: Chapter One’ — staying true to the original vision, but on a much grander scale. The first part had started off almost instantly, but enough to tell us that the Panjurli and Guliga goddesses are central to the narrative along with the Bhuta Kola tradition. The prequel, however, pulls higher, catching within its wider sweep the Bangara Kingdom and the royalty led by King Vijayendra (Jayaram), his son Kulasekhara (Gulshan Devaiah), daughter Kanakavathi (Rukmini Vasanth), and the ominous shadows they cast on Kantara forest and its inhabitants. Their worlds connect when Berme (Rishab Shetty), the leader of the indigenous folks in Kantara, arrives in Bangara for trade.

Unlike the first part, the story of 'Kantara: Chapter 1' is a bit more complicated. While ‘Kantara’ followed the indigenous people’s fight against the forest officers and how they depended on divine intervention to protect their land, the forest people in ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ are in perennial war with the forces around them. How are these forces connected? What role do they play in the larger picture? The makers take their time to establish key facts, which at times risks stretching the storyline. However, the filmmaker  keeps things engaging by thoughtfully developing some of the central characters.

Rishab Shetty returns as the protagonist in this film, though this time he portrays a different character—Berme, not Shiva from Kantara: Chapter One. He elevates his performance in this installment, delivering a standout act, especially during the scenes where his character is possessed by the deity Guliga—an intense transformation that occurs multiple times. Remember the iconic cry when Shiva was possessed in Kantara? Berme, too, lets out this atavistic howl, far more than Shiva did. The awe it had then inspired still intact. Rishab also handles the physical transformation well, especially during the climax scene.

The film also leans heavily on VFX, a challenge the team handles impressively. The Puli Deivam (Tiger God) sequences stand out as a major highlight of the movie. The makers require a shout-out here given that films like ‘Adipurish’ which had heavy budgets, floundered in this regard. The film features numerous raw action sequences that use traditional war weapons, intensifying the impact of its violent scenes. But some of the action is reduced to exaggerated flying scenes, which do not sit well with the grounded quality of the movie.

The women characters are quite strong, though they are not completely given moments of glory. They flare, but are not allowed to blaze. Rukmini Vasanth has amazing screen presence, though her time on screen is limited. The supporting actors, including Jayaram, Gulshan Devaiah, also delivered good performances.

Ajaneesh Lokanath's music, evoking the spiritual thrum and the fierce primal rhythms of intensely-felt existence, inventively elevates the soundscape of the movie. Overall, 'Kantara: Chapter 1' is a successful, though long, successor to the original, brimming with mystery and divinity.