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Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 doesn’t just go back in time, it attempts to explore the soul of belief itself. Set around 300 CE during the Kadamba dynasty, this prequel to his 2022 blockbuster traces the origins of the faith, folklore, and fury that powered the first film. Once again, Shetty writes, directs, and stars, and that creative control is both a blessing, and a limitation.
At 169 minutes, Kantara: Chapter 1 is grand in every sense. It charts the journey of Berme (Shetty), a tribal warrior navigating divine forces and royal ambitions in the kingdom of Bangra. The storytelling is dense, asking viewers to absorb its rhythm. You can feel Shetty trying to build an origin myth that’s both spiritual and cinematic, a tough balance that mostly lands, even when it overreaches.
Shetty’s performance grounds the film. He carries devotion and rage with striking physicality. Jayaram, as the king, brings quiet command; Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah lend their parts perfect nuance. The ensemble, too, stands out, which helps the world feel inhabited rather than staged.
Visually, the film is stunning. Arvind S. Kashyap’s camera turns the Western Ghats into a breathing entity; every frame mist-soaked and alive. The wide shots evoke awe; the close-ups feel sacred. B. Ajaneesh Loknath’s score combines ancient folk instruments with the orchestral, creating a soundscape that’s mythic but never overbearing. The production design deserves applause: the sets, the costumes, the texture of the land; it all feels very real.
Where the film stumbles is in storytelling rhythm. The first half is exposition-heavy, packed with lore and hierarchy talk that occasionally blocks the emotional flow. The edits feel abrupt, the tone sometimes uneven. The second half picks up steam, tightening the action, but the script continues to wrestle with its own scale. Shetty’s ambition sometimes outpaces his control. The visual imagination is immense, but character arcs suffer due to its grand scale.
Even with these flaws, Kantara: Chapter 1 excels as an ambitious expansion of Kannada cinema’s mythic storytelling. It’s less a prequel and more a statement. It proves that stories of divinity and one’s roots can move audiences in a post-blockbuster age. Imperfect, yes, but vividly alive, and that’s what keeps Shetty’s world so hard to look away from.
