One of my all time favourite movies has been Kantara , so obviously I had to watch any prequel , sequel or series (if at all) was released. That being said, I was not really in a happy mind space, before going to the movie. Luckily, everything changed once I sat in the multiplex, among the audience. (There was a silent anticipation in the theater, before the movie started, probably because we were all waiting for the signature, Wooahh! call, by the Bhoot Kola performers)
Without further ado, let me jump right into the review.
Movie Name : Kantara : Chapter 1
Released On : October 2nd, 2025
QB watched On : October 4th, 2025
Starring : Rishabh Shetty, Jayaram, Gulshan Devaiah, Rukmini Vasanth and others
Directed By : Rishabh Shetty
Review:
The movie starts with the cruel king of Bangra, Vijayendra, who hunts down tribals and makes them his slaves in his kingdom. Although he has everything, he is not satisfied. He is after the spices found at the mystical Eswara Vanam, deep inside the Kantara forest.
Vijayendra, reaches the divine part of the forest, along with his probably 7 year old son, Rajasekhara and army following them. The king and his army perishes, thanks to the Daiva Ganas in the forest, only the child survives, who later on becomes the king, played by Mallu actor Jayaram (My favourite).
Rajasekhara has ties with the dark magic users, the Kadapa people. Though his son Kulasekhara is born healthy, his daughter Kanakavathi had to be breast fed by a Kadapa woman, to cure her useless legs.
Meanwhile, the tribals find a newborn baby boy, seemingly with divine intervention, raise him as their own. No prizes for guessing he is Berme, our own Rishabh Shetty. He looks the part of a tribal, with raw power. (He even wears curvy, off-white earrings, which I later realised were probably the tooth of a wild boar, a subtle reference to the divine Varaha Roopam.)
The Bangra kingdom is now under the rule of a new king, Kulasekhara (Gulshan Devaiah), who is not much of a ruler. He is alcoholic, lazy, ignorant and arrogant at the same time. His sister Kanakavathi (Rukmini Vasanth), looking ethereal and exquisite is more of an active ruler.
The first half is about how Berme and his gang, ditch the forest, come to the kingdom of Bangra, learn trading etc. The fight scenes are interesting. There is a brief cameo by Rishabh Shetty’s wife too!
When Berme is captured by the king, we get to see Peppe, the son of a head port trader. (Sadly, the actor who played Peppe, Rakesh Poojari died even before the release of the movie, by heart attack. RIP. He was in his early 30s)
Coming back to the movie, the first half is rather slow and long, because, the director Rishabh had to give us an idea of the world surrounding Kantara.
Just before the movie goes into intermission, Berme and his friends come face to face, for the first time with Kadapa people. They are this gross looking people, whose face have more cracks than my feet. Their makeup is so good, I began to hate them, as soon as I saw them. (After seeing the Kadapa tribe, I understood what dark magic and dark thoughts make your face look like, UGLY!)
The movie makes heady progress, thanks to the closeness of Princess Kanakavathi and Berme. This triggers King Kulasekhara into waging a war on the mere tribals. He kills off most of them, but brings on the death wrath of Guliga Daiva, after killing Berme’s adoptive mother. (What you sow, is what you get!)
The next scene is what menace looks like. Berme transforms into Guliga Daiva and spectacular acting follows. (I would love to interview Rishabh Shetty’s costars about their feelings, being in the middle of his fabulous acting during these high octane sequences, I want to know everything!)
The scene that stood out for me is after Guliga Daiva leaves Berme, after the violence and all, we see Berme is shattered, coming to terms with the deaths in his tribe. I loved the hopeless expression Rishabh could come up with, showing his helplessness. Bravo!
All this is a pre-cursor to the grand finale.
After being at loggerheads with the Bangra kingdom, the tribals of Kantara are ready to fight it out one last time.
This time around, the Bangra king has the help of Kadapa people, with Princess Kanakavathi in the lead.
All is well, that ends well. The final sequence is replete with many memorable scenes. Some stick into your brain, as if they were our own experiences. The hero Berme, is heroic, without being over-the-top. I can’t put into words the acting calibre of Rishabh Shetty. He is the soul of the movie. I like how the villains die in a jiffy, they can’t spar with the divine Guliga Berme!
Just like how the first Kantara made us sit up and notice, this one too forces us to watch it again and again anddddd again!
It took me more than 4 days to process the movie and form words for the review.
If my next post is late, you need to understand, I am probably in my room, watching other movies directed and/or acted by Rishabh Shetty.
Can anyone blame me for that??
P.S:
1. I loved the screenplay. What will happen next, was my thought while watching the movie.
2. The attempt at comedy in the first half was unnecessary. But I am beginning to think that, that is Rishabh Shetty’s strategy, to give a slow start and end the movie on a high! ( even Kantara was like that)
3. While talking to Mr.Bee, I understood that Rishabh Shetty is to film industry, what M.S.Dhoni is to Indian cricket. Both are confident leaders and are willing to step up and get the job done!
When top order batsmen fail, Dhoni becomes a middle order batsmen and finishes off the game. Similarly, Rishabh Shetty finishes off the movie with his peak acting and fantastic direction.
4. I was apprehensive about Kantara: Chapter 1, because Kantara set such high standards, who knew if even Rishabh Shetty could top it? He is surely going to sweep the National Award for best actor and best director.
5. Let me add, the tiny detail of bringing important Kantara actors into this prequel too was a good touch. The cinematography, music and VFX, take a bow!
Till the next post, cheerio!
