Kishore: Any story about man vs nature is commendable and that’s what I liked about Kantara

The actor plays Deputy Range Forest Officer Murali in the Rishab Shetty directorial, which releases in theatres on September 30

Kishore as DRFO Murali in the film

Kantara is not the first collaboration between Kannada actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty and actor Kishore. Back in the day, Rishab was an associate on director AMR Ramesh’s bilingual film Attahasa/Vanayudham, in which Kishore played the lead, as slain forest brigand Veerappan. As actors, they worked together on Rakshit Shetty’s Ulidavaru Kandanthe, and then, Kishore was also a part of the anthology that Rishab produced, Katha Sangama. Kantara is their first collaboration as a director and actor, in which they are pitted against each other.

Kishore is not the quintessential villain in this tale. He plays Deputy Range Forest Officer Murali, who is duty bound to protect the eco-sensitive area he is stationed at. His duty, though, puts him at loggerheads with Shiva (Rishab), with regard to the local temple traditions followed in the region, and more. Ahead of the film’s world-wide release on September 30, Rishab and Kishore sat down for a conversation for the production house, Hombale Films.

In the last few days, Rishab has often been quoted as saying that he wrote the character of Murali keeping Kishore in mind, while the actor said that he was more impressed by the story than the role offered to him. So, when Rishab asked him to elaborate on this, this is what Kishore had to say. “Presenting any store about the man vs nature is commendable, but more so, when it is done with a holistic vision. From an environmental activist stand-point, the people who live on the fringes of a forest may seem like encroachers who are bringing any man vs animal conflict upon themselves. At the same time, for these people, living in or near a forest is the only life they are used to and when the animals destroy their cultivations or other small-businesses, it comes across as a nuisance to them. Kantara presents the man vs nature conflict as a wholesome tale, including a man vs man clash, which is what appealed to me,” said the actor.

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