'Kantara' review: The story of the myth of a deity and Rishabh Shetty's amazing performance will leave you stunned
The Kantara story begins in 1870. This story of a king, a village and a village deity was explained so clearly in Hindi that you do not get confused anywhere but get attached to it only with the opening scenes. In the last three-four years, a section of the audience has been created in Hindi, which takes a lot of interest in South's films. If films like Kantara are given to these audiences in theatres, then they will give priority to them over Hindi films and will definitely come to see them. The wait in the Hindi audience for a film like Kantara tells that the makers of Bollywood need to understand and catch their sensibilities by looking at the stories prevalent in the villages and towns and the characters found there.
It is very rare that a regional language film becomes so popular that the demand for its dubbed version in Hindi or other languages arises. This is what happened with Kantara, which released in Kannada two weeks ago. On the third Friday, the film has been dubbed in Hindi and you can say that Kantara is a cinema to experience. It cannot be explained by saying. Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 1 released two weeks ago. The story and characters of this film were so entangled for the audience of the Hindi belt that the mind is consumed only in understanding them.
Kantara is inspired by folk tales. Here a king has everything, but there is no happiness and peace. He goes out in search of it and reaches a village, where with the sight of the village deity present in the form of a stone, he feels infinite peace. get pleasure. The king wants to take the deity to his palace, then the deity enters the body of a human and asks the king that if you take me from here, what will you give to the villagers in return. Raja says whatever you say. Then the deity says, make loud noises in these forests and as far as your voice will go, the land belongs to these villagers. The king does the same and as far as his voice goes, the land, forests and rivers belong to the villagers. But a hundred years pass and the modern descendants of the king say that his ancestor foolishly gave his land to the villagers. They want the village land back and a very interesting story begins from here.
There is detail and depth in Kantara's story. The story is related to nature and the sons of nature who live away from urban civilization. Talks about the faith of man and the deep-rooted beliefs in the mind. Some may call them superstitions, but the story of Rishabh Shetty takes you to a different world. Which is full of adventure and mystery. The film also has action and romance. As the film progresses, it increases the curiosity of the viewer. Rishabh Shetty is in the lead role with the writer-director and his action scenes are very believable. It is certain that if such heroes come on the screen, then it will be hard on the action stars of Bollywood, who look alike on and off the screen. Those who do not show acting but sell themselves like a brand.
The story of Kantara is simple to tell. Talks about man's innate belief in nature and deity. Here the hero is not a fake like the hero of Bollywood and looking at the rules and regulations of today's world, he seems to be standing in the wrong court. But he is right in his place. The film also asks some questions from the viewer.
After KGF fame of Kannada cinema, Rishabh Shetty is set to become another well-known name and face in Hindi. Kishore Kumar Mr. He has been seen by the audience of Hindi in the webseries She and his performance here too is very good. Kantara has been dubbed in Sahaj Hindi and has the entertainment that Hindi audiences look for in Bollywood movies. The film keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Shows a new world. Entertains. What else does the viewer want? Here the acting and action, make-up, lighting, camerawork and background music of the actors are superb. VFX is fine. The climax of the film is such that after the end of Kantara, you want to sit on the seat for some time. Want to believe that what you just saw has literally passed before my eyes.
After increasing the reach of OTT, many films made in South have also been seen by the cinema fans of North India and have become fans of these films forever. 'Kantara' is one of those films that if you haven't seen it in theaters now and watch it later on OTT, then you will regret why you missed the experience of watching it in theaters!
There is a folk tale at the root of the story of 'Kantara' and the narrative of the entire film has the same hypnosis as one feels in listening to folk tales. Rishabh Shetty as a director creates a world that you keep watching with great curiosity. And he tells the story with this flow that no moment seems empty and the desire to keep looking at the world of 'Kantara' remains. For Rishabh's short as an actor, only one word seems to be the most accurate - amazing!
The film tells the story of a small village in the middle of the forest. 'Kantara' means rugged forest, and there is a belief in the myth of a deity bringing prosperity to the inhabitants of this forest. The annual ritual of this deity 'Bhoot Kola' is a core element of the story.
The leading character of the film is Shiva, whose family has been worshiping the deity of the forest for generations. But Shiva is a completely temperamental and passionate boy who lives in his own fun. There is a sequence of 'Kambala' (buffalo race) in the first 30 minutes of 'Kantara', from which you are told that the more fun and brave Shiva is, the more reactive i.e. flares up very quickly. In the first half of 'Kantara', you will understand Shiva, his companions, the relationship of the villagers with the forest.
In the story, there is a forest officer, Murli (Kishore), who is the keeper of the forest on behalf of the government and according to him, the interference of the villagers in the forest is going to harm the nature. In such a situation, he also gets angry with Shiva, who considers the forest as his playground. The myth of the jungle which is at the root of the story, Devendra Suttar (Achyut Kumar), the present descendant of the king of that story, is also an important character throughout the game.
The question is, what will happen next for the villagers? Will their lands go into the hands of the government? In this era, when people are ready to cut their throats in the matter of land, then will the descendant of the king fulfill the condition of the deity believed by his ancestors? And how does the connection of Shiva and his ancestors to the god of the forest affect the entire game?
The story of 'Kantara' is like many such communities and societies in our country which are directly connected with the forest. Like Shiva and his villagers, people from many parts of the country are trapped in such conflicts. Anyway, there are very few films in the cinema on the relationship of jungle and human and 'Kantara' can be placed very high in this list.
Technically, 'Kantara' is a very strong film. The cinematography of Arvind Shetty is very strong. In the film, from the game of 'Kambala' to Bhoot Kola and the entire scenery of the jungle, the way the camera captures the whole scene, there is a novelty in it, as well as the audience present in the theater does not stick to the screen but feels involved in the story. Like everything is happening in front of my eyes.
The special effects are also very good and the color tone is very soothing to the eyes. The sound of 'Kantara' not only has a native feel of Dakshina Kannada folk, but also has a mysterious element which works very well in giving a Maya type feel to the story related to the myth of the jungle. The action choreography of the film is also amazing.
Rishabh Shetty's screenplay and direction are full of energy. There is a flow in his narrative where there is no loose moment on the screen and there is no feeling of being cut off from the story. He has kept the two-and-a-half hour long film tight and the speed of the screenplay does not slow down. You can see the power of his direction on screen, but what he has done as an actor is nothing short of magical.
His raw energy in the character of Shiva is spread evenly throughout the film and his entire aura on the screen is amazing. Seeing Rishabh in the last 40 minutes of the film, you will be able to understand what such magic is in his performance. If he wasn't a spoiler, he would have talked about it here. Kishore Bahi, who became a forest officer, Achyut in the role of Raja's descendant and Saptami Gowda in the role of Shiva's love interest Leela have also done a great job.
