Entha Maraya!

How does 16 become 400?

I finally saw Kantara. And loved it.

For once, priests are not shown to be vile.

For once, traditions are not trampled upon, but celebrated.

For once, the heroine doesn’t have to act as arm candy. She looks ordinary and therein lies the charm.

For once, stories are woven around our beliefs, and not made to show them in poor light.

I can go on and on, but what I am trying to say here is that Kantara speaks of what was ordinary and routine, but has now become exotic, at least in the cities.

Halloween, a relatively unknown disease until a few years back, has now started to become mainstream in India, while Būta Kōlā is called superstition. Turkeys and chicken are stuffed for Thanksgiving, while Kambala is criticized as cruelty to animals…

To destroy peoples, you don’t need to wage war against them. Just make them forget their traditions, their roots.


The Kannada film industry has been finding its feet again, thanks to the Shetty trio – Rishabh, Raj and Rakshit. The huge void that followed the Dr. Rajkumar era seems to be ending, and Kannada cinema is slowing emerging from the shadows of the Telugu blockbusters/ Tamil crazes/ Malayalam storylines. Bollywood was never a factor – all they had is reach. And COVID, professional dubbing and OTT have neutralized that advantage. Mumbai is now just another industry in the overall Indian filmmaking business.

KGF, Avane Srimannarayana and Vikrant Rona showed that Kannada cinema can be stylish. Kantara has shown that Kannada cinema is rediscovering it’s soul.

Watch it on Prime.