Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1

Kantara: Chapter 1 Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Rishab Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, Gulshan Devaiah, and others

Director: Rishab Shetty

What’s Good: The second half of the film coming together like magic with a climax setting a benchmark for this decade!

What’s Bad: Clearly a scattered and gimmicky first half!

Loo Break: Strictly in the interval

Watch or Not?: Definitely Yes, for Rishab Shetty and Rukmini Vasanth’s brilliant acts!

Language: Kannada, dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 2 hour and 45 minutes

User Rating:

There are movies that surprise you all of a sudden with a 360-degree turn. So much so that it is impossible to move out of the Universe they have created, and something of the same sort happened when I watched Kantara Chapter 1. The much-awaited prequel for Kantara will win you over in its climax, after losing you as an audience in the first half. Trust me; it is impossible to win back someone’s attention after they start losing interest in you!

But Kantara’s prequel was all prepared and confident, and they knew what they were doing and who their target audience was. Rishab Shetty and his team have hit the bull’s eye when it comes to promising class content and even deliver it with full confidence and utmost sincerity!

Kantara Chapter 1 starts from the same point where the first film started – Shiva looking at his father disappear. Then the story straight dives into the tale of Kantara, the disappearance of Shiva’s father, his tribe, the story, and the myth of Kantara – the Brahmrakshas. The story starts forming its layers one by one in the first half, only to unfold them in the second half!

Kantara: Chapter 1 Movie Review: Script Analysis

Rishab Shetty wins with the story of Kantara Chapter 1. While the first part had traces of what it means to be a part of the tribe, the prequel, very intricately, builds the world, introduces you to the tribe, its deities, its customs, rituals, and main men. The story is a simple good vs evil you have seen a million times. In fact, the entire world is fighting good vs evil, be it on a personal level or a broader level! There is a Raja with two children – the good one, Kanakvati, played by Rukmini Vasanth, and the bad one, Kulshekhar, played by Gulshan Devaiah!

The King Vijayendra, played by the equally talented Jayaram, like any other societal norm, trusts the evil son and coronates him as the next king, and all hell breaks loose when the son decides to celebrate in the forests of Kantara, a forbidden area, which is ‘Ishwar Ka Madhuban’ guarded by a Brahma Rakshas. No one has entered the forbidden land for decades, and obviously, the harmony gets disrupted when Kulshekhar decides to peek into the forest of Kantara!

On the other hand, there is Berme – the leader of the tribe residing around the forest of Kantara. He makes sure that his tribe and the Daivas are protected until the Daivas chose him to save the forests of Kantara from the villains, another tribe that cheated and forced themselves into the forest. Not getting much into details here, because you would be bored reading it and morever you’ll be confused, unless you see it.

But here’s the basic math keeping it simple – there is one good tribe, there is one bad tribe and then there is the worst – the evil of them all – the royal throne, ruled by Kulshekhara.

Kantara: Chapter 1 Movie Review: Star Performance

Rishab Shetty and Rukmini Vasanth rule this prequel hands down. They do not leave a single dull moment, and once the story reaches the climax, you will see why these guys are gaining pan-India love and affection! They set a benchmark for theatrics, transforming into beasts who rule each and every frame! Rishab and Rukimini do not just act; they simply transform into surreal mythological characters, and you just bow down to such class acts because it takes a lot of sincerity and hard work to do what they did in the last 15 minutes of the film, which is an understatement for brilliance!

The other two lead characters – Jayaram playing the King, Vijayashekhar, and Gulshan Devaiah, playing the son, Kulshekhar do justice to their parts, but honestly, it all gets overshadowed by Rishab and Rukmini’s cinematic brilliance!