A TALE OF THREE SHETTYS

THE SUCCESS OF KANTARA IS NO FLASH IN THE PAN. KANNADA CINEMA HAS BEEN QUIETLY UNDERGOING A TRANSFORMATION, AND THREE ACTORS, IN PARTICULAR, MUST BE LAUDED FOR IT

- Ajay Sukumaran and Suhani Singh

BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30, THE DAY Kantara released, if someone had told Kannada actor-writer-director Rishab Shetty that he’d be promoting his film even a month after its release—and outside Karnataka—he’d have laughed it off. Not many outside the state had heard of him till a few months back. But in no time, the 39-year-old was offering prayers at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, and there was a trip to India Gate in Delhi, all part of the endorsements for the Hindi-dubbed version of his film, which continues to run in theatres in Mumbai. “I still don’t know why it became such a big hit,” says Rishab, who brilliantly essays the role of a man child-turned-rebel who finds his calling in ‘boota kola’, a vibrant folk ritual from coastal Karnataka.

Seated in the office of Hombale Films in Bengaluru, Rishab is beaming. Kantara, with an estimated budget of Rs 16 crore, has thus far grossed nearly Rs 350 crore nationwide, and half of its collections have come from outside Karnataka. It is also the second Kannada film in 2022 to have taken the nation by storm. In April, another Hombale Films title, part II of the K.G.F. franchise, became a roaring hit as it gave India its new-generation ‘angry young man’ in Rocky, played by Yash. The action drama is the highest-grossing Indian film of 2022 and the second highest-grossing film in the country of all time.