Movie: Kantara
Director: Rishab Shetty
Starring: Rishab Shetty, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar, Sapthami Gowda
Producer: Vijay Kiragandur
Production company: Hombale Films
Cinematography: Aravind S Kashyap
Editor: KM Prakash and Pratheek Shetty
Music director: Ajaneesh Lokanath
4/5
The IBC News Rating
Kannada actor-writer-director Rishab Shetty is back with his new film Kantara. Touted to be an action thriller, this film is set in the backdrop of Coastal Karnataka. The trailer and teasers raised expectations around the film and let’s see how it turned out to be
Story:
In the 18th century, a king offers a piece of forest land to the villagers when he gets peace and joy through their local deity. After many years, one of the king’s descendants tries to get back that land but fails in his attempt. 20 years later, Forest Range Officer Muralidhar (Kishore) tries to grab that land once again. This time, the villagers have a saviour in the form of Shiva (Rishab Shetty). How the conflict between Shiva and Muralidhar turned out to be, forms the major crux of the film.
What’s Entertaining & What’s Boring:
Kantara is a rooted story and it is his main strength. Director Rishab Shetty laced up the story with nice commercial elements. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are the major highlights of the film. The comedy portions also worked really well. Though the story has a rooted premise, Rishab dilutes its intensity a bit with his over-the-top commercial narration. If he stuck to artistic narration with only a few commercial elements, Kantara would have been more engaging. The love track between the hero and heroine is highly stereotypical and irritates the audience.
Performance of Cast & Crew:
Rishab Shetty carries the entire film on his shoulders. He got a mass screen presence and he suited the role perfectly. As he hails from the same region, he performed it with authenticity. His performance in the last 15 minutes turns out to be one of the best performances of this year in Indian cinema. Kishore got a meaty role and he was excellent. Achyuth Kumar and Sapthami Gowda are impressive. The friends in the hero’s gang are hilarious. Rishab Shetty’s writing is brilliant in most parts. The way he interlinked the relationship between nature, god and humans are impressive. As a director, he was successful in creating the world he imagined. The cinematography is top-class and establishes the atmosphere very well. The editing is apt. The production values are great. The songs and the background score are phenomenal.
First Half & Second Half:
The first fifteen minutes of the film establish the world of Kantara. We get engaged right away. Later, the film gets deviated a bit through its stereotypical commercial sequences. Even the interval point is not very gripping. The second half starts off on a slow note. But as the movie enters the third act, it reaches the next level. Rishab Shetty’s performance in the climax is spell-bounding. The ending sequence is also very convincing and a very-well shot.
Impressive:
Rishab Shetty
Rooted Story
Supporting cast
Background score
Unimpressive:
Stereotypical commercial elements
Poor interval block
THE IBC NEWS take on Movie:
On the whole, Kantara is a rooted film that explores the culture of coastal Karnataka in an engaging, gripping and thrilling way. Rishab Shetty’s stunning performance makes it a must-watch in theatres.
One-Line Review:
Well Written & Executed Rural Drama