Year-ender 2022: Kantara and the phenomenal rise of the pan-Indian film

KGF Chapter-2, RRR and Kantara were some of the films that became pan-India hits in 2022. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

As we countdown to 2023 and look back at this year, when it comes to cinema, the box office and surprises, 2022 shall be remembered for being the pan-Indian film’s domination, locally, nationally and globally. There were the expected blockbusters like S.S. Rajamouli’s epic Telugu film RRR or the Yash-starring Kannada crime drama KGF: Chapter 2 or Mani Ratnam’s Tamil historical epic Ponniyin Selvan-1, based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s novels. And then there was that unexpected juggernaut Kantara.

Writer-director-producer-actor Rishab Shetty’s period action drama, made on a budget of Rs 16 crore, has raked in close to Rs 500 crore worldwide - earning a spot among the 10 highest grossing Indian films of 2022. The Kannada language Kantara, meaning Mystical Forest, is a passionately told story based around the theme of man-animal conflict, which is deeply local in its flavour and themes.

Set in a fictional village, the film follows Shiva, a bull-racing champion, who comes into conflict with an upright forest officer, Murali (Kishore). Shetty’s incredible, goosebump-inducing performance in the opening and closing Kolas scenes, with the haunting ‘wooahs’ stays with you long after the end credits. Besides the theme of man-animal conflict, local traditions such as the Bhoota Kola (spirit worship) festival, the role of Daiva (deity) and Kambala (an annual bull race) are just some of the local festivals and rituals visualised and presented in Kantara.

Such was the success of the film, and so also the conviction of its producers and distributors, that a week after its release in Kannada, the film was dubbed in multiple languages and released in specific territories. Kantara was also the top rated movie on IMDB.com.

Shetty, whose Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai won the Best Children's Film prize at the 66th National Film Awards, has also directed Kannada films Ricky and Kirik Party, said that while there is no formula for a successful pan-India film, the content must connect with the audience. In a conversation we had in October 2022, Bengaluru-based Shetty said, “I believe regional is universal, and the man-nature conflict is a universal theme.”

During a conversation session on the side-lines of the International Film Festival of India 2022 (IFFI), Shetty, who also played the lead character Shiva, believed the film’s appeal stemmed from its ability to overcome regional and language barriers. A great deal of credit must also go to Shetty’s immersive performance for which he trained for months including to shoot the Kambala scene and the elaborate pre-climax scene. Apparently he dislocated both his shoulders while filming the pre-climax.

“The more local and more rooted a story is, the more its universal appeal. Emotions transcend language barriers,” he said of Kantara, which was shot in his hometown in Karnataka.

Shetty believes not just in his film, but strongly values and believes in his cultural rituals and traditions. Evidence of this was seen during the same IFFI conversation when, in the question and answer session, an audience member asked him to regale the packed hall with a sample of the Kola holler. Shetty refused to do so, saying this was tradition and faith, not something performative or to be mocked, but something emotional, close to people’s hearts.

Although Shetty remained non-committal during IFFI, there seems to be a very good chance that the producers will want to greenlight a prequel or sequel to Kantara very soon. As for the coming year, let’s hope Shetty inspires more storytellers to dig deep to find those local stories which cut across language barriers and capture the imagination and hearts of viewers around the country, and the world.