‘Kantara: Chapter 1’: Rishab Shetty On Why No One Has The Right To Question Food Choices

After a three-year wait, the prequel to Rishab Shetty’s sensational Kantara (2022), the surprise pan-Indian hit, will hit the screens on October 2. At their first promotional event for the film, held in Bengaluru on September 22, the film's makers, including actor-director Rishab Shetty, actress Rukmini Vasanth, and producer Vijay Kiragandur (who heads Hombale Films), took the crowd through the efforts that went into making the film. Among the things discussed was also a viral poster, allegedly associated with the film, asking people to abstain from smoking and consuming meat and alcohol as a pledge until release. Shetty was quick to dismiss the poster as fake, declaring that the banner had nothing to do with it.

"We can't react to everything, but in this case, the post was removed and an apology was given. Our production house had nothing to do with it. Honestly, I was shocked when I first saw it. Someone forwarded it to me, and I immediately shared it in our production group, asking, “Who is doing this, and why? What will people think of it?” the actor told the press gathering at the event. 

The pledge that went viral on the internet

Be it food or any individual's habits, no one has any right to question anyone, Shetty continued. “Everything is left to the individual's decision.” The film, which was shot in the coastal town of Kundapura in Karnataka, also served as a means of creating livelihoods and jobs, Shetty noted. 

“We often go to temples or ashrams to do seva on birthdays or special days, to seek blessings. But I recently realised something: in the last three years, if we put it in man-hours, Hombale Films has enabled nearly four to four-and-a-half lakh man-hours. Hombale has served and fed so many people and their families. We usually talk about box-office collections and records, but we rarely talk about what a film brings to the villages and towns it visits, the jobs it creates and the livelihoods it supports.”

The actor went on to thank the people of Karnataka, the forest authorities in Kundapura, and the locals. 

The prequel, which follows the central theme of the Kantara universe, a conflict between nature and humanity, takes us years back to the Kadamba dynasty. The film’s cast includes Rukmini Vasanth as princess Kanakavathi and Gulshan Devaiah as king Kulashekara. Speaking about Devaiah, who couldn’t make it to the event, Shetty noted that he was a fellow Kannadiga. “We know him as a Bollywood star, but he is actually a Kannadiga from Coorg. He has done a terrific job in the film,” Shetty added.

Rukmini Vasanth, known for her piercing performances in the Sapta Sagaradaache Ello films, plays an important role in the prequel. The actress said the film changed her on a cellular level. "The entire team completely supported us, right from the writers to the camera department, to the lighting department…everyone gave us the strength we needed. During the shoot, we used to forget about everything else and just stay in the moment.”

Vijay Kiragandur, producer at Hombale Films, pointed out that the film will be the first Indian title to be released in Spanish. “We're excited to announce that the film will be released in Mexican Spanish, including a special release in Colombia, South America. The Spanish dubbing is being completed within the next 2–3 days, and the South American release will follow shortly after,” the Kantara producer said. In India, the prequel is looking to be released approximately in 6,500 to 7,000 screens on October 2.