Kantara

Story:

The 2022 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film Kantara (which translates to “Mysterious Forest”) was written and directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by Hombale Films’ Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda. Along with Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, and Achyuth Kumar, Rishab Shetty plays two roles in the movie.

The plot revolves around Bhuta Kola, a customary worship method in the area, and combines aspects of spirit possession ceremonies, coastal Karnataka folklore, and divine belief systems. The story revolves around a Kambala champion and an upright forest warden who collide, resulting in a wider conflict about ancestral legacy, holy territory, and the harmony between natural law and man-made law.

Principal photography started in August 2021, and the film was set and shot at Keradi, Karnataka’s coastline region.  B. Ajaneesh Loknath created the soundtrack, and Arvind S. Kashyap handled the cinematography. Vikram More choreographed the action scenes, while Dharani Gange Putra, who was making her debut, handled the production design.

Reviewers praised the film’s performance (especially that of Shetty and Kishore), background score, direction, and depiction of indigenous mythology and customs when it was released on September 30, 2022. One of the highest-grossing Kannada films ever made was this one. Kantara: Chapter 1 is the name of the prequel.

The movie won the Silver Peacock-Special Jury Award at the 54th International Film Festival of India, where it was screened in the Indian Panorama section. The film earned the Best Popular Film Award at the 70th National Film Awards, while Rishab Shetty took home the Best Actor Award.

1847: In coastal Karnataka, a king ruled a vast kingdom with his devoted wife and kids, yet he was unable to find tranquilly. He embarks on a quest to find happiness and spirituality. In the forest where Panjurli, a demigod guarding the woodland’s inhabitants, resides, he finds a sacred stone. In return for taking the sacred stone with him, he gives the locals a sizable chunk of his land. Through a human-medium, Panjurli cautions the king and his family to honour their promise and refrain from reclaiming the land, failing which they will face the fury of Panjurli’s companion, the fierce demon Guliga.

1970: A Bhoota Kola performer, who is possessed by Panjurli, is asked by the king’s descendant to force the locals to give him the land. The performer declines, claiming that if the former goes to court to determine who will have custody of the land, the Daiva will deliver his decision on the court’s steps. When the descendent questions whether Panjurli has possessed the performer, the performer responds that if he were possessed, he would disappear. He then flees into a jungle and is never seen again. A few months later, on the steps of the court, the king’s successor inexplicably passes away while travelling to dispute who should own the territory, as the performance had forewarned and claimed.

1990: The responsibility of turning the villagers’ land into a forest reserve falls to Murali, a forest ranger. Shiva, a Kambala athlete and the son of the missing star from the Kaadubettu hamlet, challenges him, nevertheless. Devendra Suttooru, the king’s descendent and Shiva’s patron, is also the village landowner. Shiva has been requested to do the Bhoota Kola numerous times, but he declines because of the trauma of his father’s abduction. Guruva, his cousin, replaces him instead. Shiva develops feelings for Leela, a friend from his youth, while Murali and his crew begin building a fence along the designated forest reserve. He appoints Devendra as a forest guard by using his contacts with her.Although Leela was obeying orders, the police and forest guards violently put down the villagers’ attempts to stop the fencing, causing a split between Leela and Shiva.

As the conflict between Murali and Shiva grows more intense, Murali chooses to arrest Shiva and his companions and goes to their hiding place with Sudhakara, Devendra’s goon. Murali’s jeep is struck by a tree trunk that Shiva was cutting as they were on their way to arrest him. Shiva and his friends escape underground to avoid being arrested, while Murali survives with serious injuries. They return to the village in secret a few days later to meet their families; Shiva reconciles with Leela and promises to give up. But the following morning, the police and forest guards apprehend them all.Devendra tries to pay Guruva to seem to be possessed by Panjurli in the next Bhoota Kola and order the villagers to turn over the property, exposing Devendra’s real goal of obtaining the land from the locals. Guruva urges Devendra to save Shiva. Guruva is killed by Devendra after he refuses. After discovering that Murali has discovered his secret agenda, Devendra resolves to pit Shiva against Murali.

Shiva sees Devendra after learning of Guruva’s passing, and he is told falsehoods by him, including that Murali killed Guruva. Shiva is furious and rushes to murder Murali, but he finds out from his blacksmith buddy Mahadeva that Devendra killed Guruva. When Shiva is under the effect of drugs, Devendra’s goons attack him. He forces them to back off after fighting them all. Murali has previously informed the villagers of Devendra’s intention to take their property when he first meets them. Shiva reunites the village with Murali after disclosing that Devendra killed Guruva. After arriving at the scene, Devendra and his goons launch an assault, sparking a fierce conflict in which a number of the villagers are slain. Shiva strikes his head against Panjurli’s sacred stone after almost passing away in the battle. He is subsequently taken over by the Guliga, which gives him the superhuman ability to murder Devendra and his goons.

Shiva marries Leela a few months after the war, and the two of them raise their kid together. Panjurli takes possession of Shiva while he performs the Bhoota Kola. In a symbolic gesture, he joins hands with Murali and the locals. After encountering what looks to be his father’s soul, Shiva vanishes into the wilderness. The son of Shiva and Leela questions Sundara about the disappearance of his father in the scene with the mid-credits.