Kantara 2: Decoding the Rs 100 crore budget for Rishab Shetty’s prequel to Kantara

After the phenomenal success of his last film Kantara, the question that Rishab Shetty also faced was – what next? While he had a few films lined up as acting commitments, and had earlier announced a couple of directorials, including one called Rudraprayag and another with Shivarajkumar in the lead, there was so much talk about whether he would do a sequel that he finally relented. Kantara had ended with Rishab’s character Shiva disappearing into the darkness of the forest, much like his father had before him. Shiva had left behind a heavily-pregnant Leela, so the possibility was to examine what became of him, and, for that matter, his father. But Rishab chose to take a different route for his next.

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Kantara 2, as it turns out, is a prequel and while Rishab has not confirmed the time frame or the subject he is working on, it is being said that the film is being set in 300AD and will explore the origin story of Panjurli, the boar avatar demi-god. If that is the case, the film’s mythological setting and narrative, which includes Panjurli’s connection to Shiva and Parvathy, are why Kantara 2 is being mounted on a massive scale. Hombale Films has, apparently, given Rishab a free-hand to make the prequel in a budget of around Rs 100-125 crore.

Rishab has also been growing out his hair and beard and training in horse riding and kalaripayattu as part of preparation for the film, so a different timeline and story cannot be ruled out. For now, it’s the Panjurli moola that netizens think is the most likely scenario of Kantara 2. In fact, some have even provided detailed narratives on what the story of Kantara 2 could entail, from Panjurli’s birth to journey to Kailasa and how he then came to be Dharma Daiva.

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The film would not only require grand sets, but also great visual effects to present this tale, which should explain the massive budget, reckon netizens. Kantara 2, according to industry insiders, will go on floors in November in Mangaluru and will most likely be a summer of 2024 release.