Kantara - Chapter 1

"Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1" is a truly ambitious and visually stunning film, anchored by a brilliant and powerful performance from Rishab Shetty. The movie's technical achievements and its lead actor's acting prowess are undeniable, but it is held back from perfection by a weak climax and a slow start.

Rishab Shetty is phenomenal, delivering a performance that is nothing short of brilliant. His command of the screen and emotional depth make him a strong contender for another national award. The film's VFX and production design are also unbelievable and great, creating a stunning and immersive world that is a feast for the eyes.

However, the film struggles with its pacing, particularly in the first half. The comedy sequences are dragged out, which slows the narrative momentum and makes it difficult to stay consistently engaged. This uneven pacing is a significant flaw that affects the film's overall flow.

Furthermore, the climax is a little weak, failing to deliver the powerful and satisfying punch that the rest of the film builds towards. This rushed or underwhelming conclusion prevents the movie from reaching the cinematic heights it otherwise could have.

Overall, "Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1" is an impressive film with a brilliant central performance and breathtaking visuals. However, its flawed pacing and a weak climax keep it from being a truly great film.

Rishab Shetty mesmerizes as Guliga Dyva, a divine force that comes alive in the mystical forests of Tulunadu. Unlike the first part, this film doesn't dwell on village life-it is rooted entirely in the forest, giving it a raw, mythical intensity. His transformation into Guliga in key moments is portrayed with unmatched depth and power.

The background score by Ajaneesh Loknath is simply spine-chilling, perfectly syncing with rituals, action, and divine energy. Cinematography captures the forest landscape with breathtaking detail, while world-class VFX elevates the mythological sequences to a grand scale without losing cultural authenticity.

With its blend of folklore, devotion, music, and cutting-edge filmmaking, Kanthara Chapter 1 is not just a film-it is an unforgettable experience. Rating: 9.8/10. Once again, KFI is ruling the cinema world!

Rating - 4.25/5

A divine mythological tale bestowed with a big leap to its premier film through exceptional narrative.

The plot of the story explores the culture, myth and belief of the people in the sacred land Kantara, where they believe their deity rests, exposing its powerful aura when the peace and harmony of the divine garden is disrupted by besiegers to take control over the blessed land with adverse intentions.

Rishab Shetty has precisely blended the culture, tradition, myth & superstitions of Tulunadu in an unprecedented narrative and technicalities. The way the story has been layered to utter perfection shows how much time, effort, blood, sweat and tears he has given for this movie. This film stands far superior to the first part considering the storyline. It was really fascinating to see how he mixed the entire first half of the story with subtle humour and dialogues neither deviating from the core plot along with romance, action, torture, sentiments, greed and royal treachery. A few sequences before the climax felt slightly off the mood but the pre - interval portion where the screenplay changes its dynamics and pre - climax sequences were pure goosebumps. Standing ovations to Rishab Shetty & Hombale Films for designing an epic story with world class production quality leaving no stones unturned.

Hats off to the filmmakers for assembling the brilliant actors on screen who have performed their characters and distinct shades exceptionally well. Rishab Shetty has just outperformed his character delivering humour, emotions & action sequences so convincingly. Intense performances by Jayaram & Rukmini Vasanth who carried their character throughout the movie. Gulshan Devaiah has just delivered an unparalleled performance as a slipshod ruler.

An eternal ovations to the technical crew behind the screen for their fascinating contributions. Arvind Kashyap has just delivered a visual masterpiece on screen with each frames adding immense value to the story. Kudos to the editor Suresh who polished the story into an enthralling and engaging film close to 3 hours with Ajaneesh Loknath's immersive and divine music and background scores supported with Rajakrishnan's and Arun's sound design. The credits would be incomplete if the Production Designer Benglann, Action Choreographer Todor Lazarov, Costumer Pragathi Rishab Shetty, colourist Raju Reddy and VFX/CG team is left unmentioned whose efforts just popped and glittered on the screen throughout the movie.

A must watch movie on the big screens and make it a point to watch it on Dolby Atmos/Epiq/ICE/IMAX screens promising a world class cinematic experience that will surely make it to Oscars/ Academy awards for its content oriented presentation.

Great acting by Rishabh Shetty!!!

The 1st half of the movie is Full of introduction of characters but during the pre interval the actually movie starts pure goosebumps!!! It is the best movie i have ever experienced in the theaters...every character has there own importance in this movie You will regret if you don't watch this in theatres.

Kantara Chapter 1 is an amazing large-screen experience. Rishab Shetty has done it again-his vision, direction, and storytelling immerse you into a beautifully crafted world. The world-building and cinematography are top-notch, giving the film a strong visual identity that genuinely delivers a "wow" effect. The CGI work is impressive, especially considering the scale and budget of the film-it's clear the resources were used wisely and effectively.

Rukmini Vasanth had a meaningful role, and it was refreshing to see that Rishab didn't reduce her to just a romantic interest. Both Gulshan and Jayaram delivered solid performances that added depth to the narrative. Rishab himself continues to impress-he has truly established a strong mark with both Kantara films. The music was subtle and well-blended with the story, enhancing the emotional beats without overpowering them.

However, the one downside for me was the comedy. I found it difficult to connect with the humor, and I felt that the runtime was stretched unnecessarily because of these gags. Personally, I would have preferred more focus on the backstory of the deities rather than filler scenes. As for the comparison with the original, I'd say no-it doesn't beat the first one. The original had a unique touch of horror and gave us goosebumps; that intensity felt missing here.

That said, Kantara Chapter 1 is still a good one-time watch, especially in theaters, where the scale and grandeur of the film truly shine. Just don't walk in expecting it to surpass the original.