Rishab Shetty's Kantara was screened at the Isha Foundation of Sadhguru

Before Kantara, Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, was screened at Isha Foundation.

Rishab Shetty in Kantara

Kantara, which completed 25 days of theatrical run, was screened at the Isha Foundation of Sadhguru, recently. The Kannada blockbuster was the second movie to be shown at the spiritual organisation, following the historical drama Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, featuring Kangana Ranaut.

Nearly a month after its release, Rishab Shetty's Kantara is still breaking box office records. The Kannada film broke the Rs 200-crore mark in terms of gross international receipts over the Diwali holidays. Only three Kannada movies have ever achieved this feat.

A story of land grabbing and the struggle between man and environment that is set in coastal Karnataka also incorporates folklore and local beliefs. Kantara has sold 77 lakh tickets as of October 24 in Karnataka, as opposed to 75 lakh and 72 lakh for KGF 2 and KGF 1, respectively. Trade analysts estimate that just in Karnataka, the movie might wind up drawing more than a crore viewers.

One of the highest-grossing Indian movies of the year is Kantara. It presently occupies the eighth position on the list, ahead of Gangubai Kathiawadi and Valimai, and behind only KGF 2, RRR, Ponniyin Selvan I, Brahmastra, Vikram, The Kashmir Files, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

If reports were to be believed, Kantara was hastily written in five months and produced without any thought to how well it may perform at the box office.

“After being exposed to information from all around the world, audiences are now more interested in stories that are regional, realistic, and reflect Indian sentiments. Stories about our culture can only be told by us,” Rishab Shetty was quoted as saying.

Rishab Shetty said that he was unsure about his next move when questioned. His goal in creating Kantara was to portray a tale that was deeply steeped in the coastal Karnataka culture. “Now, it is far larger than that. It's now an Indian movie that was originally made in Kannada; thanks to the huge success of its dub versions. Language barriers have become less distinct. I'll make another Kannada film. But before that, I'll free myself from all the standards Kantara has set. It must be a natural process.”

Next, Allu Arjun's father Allu Aravind would collaborate with Rishab Shetty. As per Aravind's announcement on Kantara's Telugu version success meet, the two would team up under the Geetha Arts label.

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