The prequel to the National Award-winner records a staggering ₹60 crore India Net, with ₹21 crore coming from the Hindi dub alone. Despite a slow first half, Rishab Shetty’s “possessed” performance and brilliant visuals fuel pan-India demand.
October 3, 2025: The highly anticipated prequel to Rishab Shetty’s National Award-winning blockbuster, Kantara, premiered on October 2nd. Directed by and starring Shetty, Kantara: Chapter 1 delves deeper into Indian folklore, exploring the ancient roots of the forest and the saga of the deity’s protector. Riding on the phenomenal ₹400 crore success of the first film, expectations were sky-high for this grand cinematic chapter.
Big Box Office Opening
The prequel has had a massive opening, securing ₹60 crore (India Net) on its first day, according to Sacnilk. The film has demonstrated its pan-Indian appeal, with the Hindi-dubbed version alone accounting for a significant ₹21 crore of the net collection.
Initial occupancy numbers highlight the film’s strong reception across the Southern states:
- Kannada: 88.13%
- Telugu: 75.34%
- Tamil: 71.42%
- Malayalam: 66.61%
- Hindi: 29.84%
Produced by Hombale Films, the film boasts a strong cast including Rishab Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah, Jayaram, and Rakesh Poojari.
Review: Climax Saves a Slow First Half
While the film promises grand visuals and folklore-driven storytelling, the first half of Kantara: Chapter 1 is dedicated almost entirely to world-building, which unfortunately slows the pace down. Though there’s an attempt to flesh out every character, some sequences feel unnecessarily dragged out.
However, the film finds its rhythm in the second half. The plot accelerates, becoming more engaging, and culminates in a shocking twist that compensates for the initial lag. The action sequences, particularly in the latter half, are given their due.
Rishab Shetty the actor is the undisputed force of the climax. A “possessed” Shetty compels the audience to appreciate his talent, naturally commanding attention whenever he is on screen. That said, the same intensity is lacking in his more “regular” scenes, where his portrayal of Berme is reminiscent of Prabhas’s limited range in Baahubali 1.
Music and Visuals are the Film’s Heart
To avoid being categorized as “just another folklore film,” the prequel needed a special edge, which it finds in its music and visuals. The film’s greatest strengths are its background score and the strategic use of classical music, masterfully crafted by B Ajaneesh Loknath.
Similarly, the technical teams deserve major accolades. Arvind S Kashyap’s cinematography and the VFX teams create a texturally rich film with believable effects and commendable attention to detail, particularly in capturing the emotions of animals. The music and visuals together ensure that the film, despite its pacing issues, remains an immersive experience.