Kantara: Nearly 50 days since its release, Rishab Shetty’s film holds over 220 shows in Bengaluru

When Rishab Shetty’s Kantara released on September 30, not many thought that the film would be in theatres for more than a week, or maybe two. But against all odds, the film, which was released in Kannada only, caught the fancy of audiences across the country and became an overnight success, recording not only massive footfalls, but also setting box office records.

As a Hombale Films release, its first since KGF: Chapter 2, Kantara got a fair number of shows when it came out, even though Ponniyin Selvan 1 was also in theatres on the same day. In fact, Rishab’s film began its box office journey with 200+ screens in Bengaluru, which 44 days later stands at 220+ with at least a quarter recording houseful shows even now.

The film, which has recorded 1 crore ticket sales in Karnataka and has the credit of the highest footfalls for a Hombale Films production, has reportedly surpassed KGF-2’s collections in the state. The makers are yet to officially announce box office figures, but trade trackers report that Kantara has grossed close to Rs 350 crore worldwide, with a net income of about Rs 270-280 crore.

It is expected that Hombale Films will keep Kantara in over 200 screens till the 50 days celebration at least. In fact, owing to the film’s massive success, the makers are believed to have renegotiated their deal with streaming partner Amazon Prime Video. Kantara had been sold pre-release and it was believed that the film would be available to stream from November 4. This was then speculated to be November 18, but the latest buzz is that the makers will not allow it to be available before December.

Rishab Shetty’s film, which follows a man vs nature conflict, also stars Sapthami Gowda, Kishore, Pramod Shetty, and Achyuth Kumar in pivotal roles. The film’s music by B Ajaneesh Loknath was much talked about, but shortly after, there were allegations of plagiarism for the songs Varaha Roopam and Singara Siriye. In fact, two Kerala courts had ordered the filmmakers to stop playing Varaha Roopam, following a dispute filed by Kerala-based band Thaikkudam Bridge over copyright alleging that the song is like their composition, Navarasam. The case is still sub-judice.