Rishab Shetty announces Kantara 2. What to expect? 

Kannada film actor, director, and screenwriter Rishab Shetty announced on February 8 that he is not done with his 2022 critical and financial hit Kantara. His next project, teased as Kantara 2, will serve as a prequel to the 90s era story that he explored in the first film. 

Made on a budget of Rs 16 crore, Kantara turned out to be last year’s sleeper hit with a box office collection of Rs 450 crore breaking several records for Sandalwood (Kannada film industry). Seconded only by KGF: Chapter 2, Kanatara is the highest-grossing Kannada film of all time. So, definitely, a lot would be banking on the next film in Shetty’s Kantara universe.

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Prequel is a good choice given Kantara’s world-building: Kantara plays out as an intergenerational story with Shetty’s protagonist Shiva trying to get past the trauma of the disappearance of his father, a practitioner of the ritual dance Bhoota Kola. The ritual plays a crucial role in the plot as the task of performing it serves as a hereditary role that even Shiva has to inherit. 

With most of the action taking place in 1990, the opening minutes of Kantara take the story way back to 1847 ( with a detour to 1970, where Shiva’s father comes into the picture). The years that transpired between 1847 and 1970 would provide enough space to explore more narratives around the inhabitants of the Kaadubettu village and their relation with the local deity Panjurli Daiva. 

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Newer themes should be explored though: With its ambitious runtime of 150 minutes, Kantara touched upon diverse themes like religion, environmentalism, family dynamics, and the aftermath of human greed and modernisation. As the 1847 flashback in the first film also offered hints of the local faith and the destructive human nature, Shetty would have to explore new angles to make Kantara truly stand out. 

With the first film itself ending on Shiva finally following his father’s footsteps to dance as a Bhoota Kola performer, Shiva’s future legacy could have been explored with Kantara 2. The villagers building an alliance with the forest officer Murali (who initially came off as a villain) could have been another element to explore. But given that Shetty is going down the prequel route, something beyond the Bhoota Kola practice will have to be touched upon to make Kantara 2 not repetitive. 

Financial success is to be expected: The first film’s box office success was quite unprecedented with the Kannada market supported by good earnings by the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi dubs. By December, Netflix even managed to release an English dub of the film. So, it is highly unlikely that Kantara 2 would not succeed. Talking about the other big Kannada franchise KGF, the sequel managed to surpass expectations and overshadowed the first movie with an extra 1000 crore!

Will Kantara 2 also be a pan-Indian hit?  While a vast majority of critics shunned KGF’s storyline and performances, a large reason behind the film’s success was its leading man Yash’s brand of brash heroism. Bringing back an “angry young man” image worked in his favour. Kantara, on the other hand, generated hype as an overall product. Rishab Shetty’s portrayal won over critics and audiences alike but in Kantara 2, it is highly unlikely that he will star again given that the story has nothing to do with Shiva. 

In fact, even with the first film, Shetty was intent on casting Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar as hero before his untimely demise. Among other popular Kannada stars whom he can cast for pan-Indian success, the name of Sudip might pop up even if his pan-Indian popularity hasn’t proven to be successful (Vikrant Rona couldn’t generate much hype last year despite doing good business of more than 250 crore). 

Owing to the KGF franchise, Yash’s stardom is still fresh with his rebellious image comparable to that of a post-Arjun Reddy Vijay Devarakonda in the Telugu industry. So, if Shetty does manage to rake in Yash for a role in Kantara 2, the chances of high earnings might increase only further. However, while Yash has a good reputation at delivering heroic dialogues, powerful acting might not be his strongest suit. While Shetty’s own Kantara protagonist Shiva was no less of a brash, hypermasculine hero, Yash (albeit with less masala direction) can also work as Kantara 2’s leading man. 

Given the overwhelming financial success of KGF 2 and the Tamil sci-fi hit and Rajinikanth-starrer 2.0 (despite not earning as positive reviews as its predecessor Enthiran), the road seems better for Kantara 2. In the Telugu industry, Pushpa: The Rise was always meant to have a sequel while SS Rajamouli is also convinced to helm a follow-up chapter to RRR. After all, Rajamouli has had his own sweet success with big-budget, pan-Indian duologies like the Baahubali franchise. Meanwhile, Pathaan’s success with even its Tamil and Telugu dubs secures the so-called YRF Spy Cinematic Universe. 

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Kantara 2 might not have a release date right now and production might not have even commenced but its box office success seems certain.