Kantara

11th November 2022

Kantara (mysterious forest)

A week has elapsed since Vidula and I saw the Kannada movie Kantara. Ignorance, lack of curiosity or even a linguistic bias had prevented me from watching south Indian movies. I had never heard of Rishab Shetty, the film’s writer, director, and lead actor. 

OTT provided me with easy access to Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam movies. Being oblivious to South Indian cinema was my loss. I am now slowly getting acquainted with the works of Vijay Sethupathi, Fasil Fahad, Vijay, and many others. Hindi movies now appear distasteful and unrelatable.

Kantara left me speechless. Rishab Shetty has given Kantara a very ‘raw’ look. All the characters seem relatable. There aren’t any glossy, well-groomed heroes and heroines. We find ordinary, everyday people creating extraordinary work. Both, the hero (Shiva) and his love interest (Leela) appear genuine and have played their parts with elan. Leela, played by Saptami Gowda, hasn’t got much to do but still shines in her part of a young forest officer torn between the demands of her job and the expectations of villagers.

Rishab Shetty has portrayed multiple themes in this movie and nowhere does the pace slacken. We remain riveted to the screen as a lot keeps happening! All the scenes are so beautifully shot and are so colourful! The story which spans a period of almost 150 years begins with a disillusioned King. He is shown to be seeking some purpose in life. Here Shetty makes the important point that no one is immune to negative emotions like disenchantment, disillusionment, and frustration. Above everything else, one needs a purpose to live. The King, while on an exploratory journey of self-realisation, comes across a local stone deity deep in a jungle. He experiences happiness and peace while in its presence. The King implores the local tribesmen/adivasis/original inhabitants to hand over this deity to him. Upon making this request, Panjurli Daiva, a local mythical demigod possesses one of the tribals and speaks with the king. Panjurli Daiva allows the king to take the deity with him but asks for land in return for the tribals. The king readily agrees to this demand. Panjurli Daiva then warns the king about maintaining this arrangement in the future. If the king or any of his descendents choose to go back on their word, all hell would break loose. Panjurli Daiva says that he may forgive him, but Guliga Daiva would be merciless! 

Events in the future show wayward descendents of this king die as they crave to take back their land. We see Guliga Daiva in action in the hair-raising twenty minute climax.

Kantara introduces us to local customs, myths and legends. Similar beliefs can be found across rural India. Most modern city dwellers judge these customs as outdated, irrelevant, and even superstitious. We need to be more tolerant with our views as our rural population outnumbers the urban by a wide margin. Our frame of reference is completely different than theirs. Simply because we disagree with some customs does not make them wrong. People have different backgrounds and are brought up differently. Some are God fearing while some are atheists. Some are ritualistic while some aren’t. 

Demigods such as Panjurli Daiva are invoked in finding solutions to many local issues. People consider them to be manifestations of God.

Kantara makes a strong case for giving better exposure to local customs. The attention to detail, makeup, and costumes of Panjurli Daiva during Kola (a local festival) is stunning to say the least. The image of a yellow-faced Panjurli smiling benignly is bound to be seared in our minds. I repeat, our eyes remain glued to the screen. 

One song in particular, ‘Varaha Rupam’ is still echoing in my mind. Varaha (boar) is the third avatar of Lord Vishnu and apparently Panjurli Daiva has a connection with this incarnation. In fact, a digitally created Varaha appears tantalising the hero in many scenes.

Kantara also focuses on the issue of the right of tribals to forest land and hunting. By virtue of being the original inhabitants for several centuries, logically the tribals should have first right of way and use. They have learnt through decades of trial and error how to preserve and conserve. Is it fair to uproot them unceremoniously from ‘government land’? Do they have any concept or understanding of democracy, government, elected officials, forest guards etc.? Are we not forcing the modern way of living and thinking on them?

One striking aspect of Kantara is the repeated allusions to Lord Shankar. Lord Shankar is the creator, protector and destroyer. In Kantara we have a hero named Shiva who is seen in all these roles. His love interest is called Leela. These two names when fused give us ‘Shivleela’ which translates to ‘Drama of Lord Shiv’. The treehouse where Shiva is shown spending time is called ‘Kailasa’.

Rishab Shetty is very earnest as Shiva and has been able to extract competent performances from his fellow actors. The background score, the action scenes, the bull race… all stay with us for a very long time.