‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ (2025) Movie Review - Rishab Shetty's Exhausting Epic

Rishab Shetty's Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1 (or simply Kantara: Chapter 1) is an exhausting epic. It's an epic without a dream. What Shetty primarily demonstrates is that he can create a large set, work with VFX, and, with an unusual amount of physicality, act convincingly. That last point might just be the only good reason to watch this film. Whenever Shetty's Berme is possessed by the divine spirits, his body judders violently and his eyes widen, as if opening a portal to another dimension to summon supernatural energy. His face, usually stiff in human form, suddenly grows expressive, and with swift, almost animalistic movements, Berme infuses the film's pace with raw vitality. However, such impressive physical skills of Shetty the actor are undermined by Shetty the director. The latter is a curious case — more curious than Benjamin Button. He assembles a fine cast, constructs elaborate sets, displays expertly woven fabrics, and executes frisky sequences such as the one where Berme and his men attempt to make their escape with the aid of a...rolling tower? A tower on wheels? Apologies, I don't remember what it's called in the film, but the sequence is reminiscent of the "three-way sword fight on the big wheel" in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. But what's the point of putting so much effort into all these things if, in the end, you just rush through them without savoring anything?
 

Like the 2022 Kantara, Kantara: Chapter 1 is made with an eye for speed. Scenes don't linger — they aren't allowed to breathe. Instead, Shetty hurls them onto a high-speed treadmill. His directorial style feels like holding down the fast-forward button, ensuring that everything he has written, everything he has conceived, forces its way into the final film. When a king enters the forest of Kantara with his child and comes face-to-face with the supernatural power the locals worship, what we get is a self-contained jump-scare scene. What's missing is the slow buildup, the spooky tease—everything is over in the blink of an eye. The only "buildup" Shetty believes in is a pace that's always in a hurry. What does it lead to? Only blocks of action that seem active thanks to the momentum already in place, keeping every image on the same frequency. This "buildup," however, comes without payoff. Shetty merely keeps things brisk and moving. No wonder, Kantara: Chapter 1 is first infected by blandness and then a sense of lethargy. The high points are devoid of highs; the emotional scenes evoke no feeling. Shetty doesn't let you register any beats and offers little opportunity to soak in the landscape or its beauty. Events come at you so quickly that you are busy catching information rather than absorbing or admiring the set or story. Maybe because of this unchallenging, superfast filmmaking, the setting comes across as little more than a backdrop for whatever happens on screen. The darkness of the forest and the colors of the Bangra kingdom never truly capture your imagination or stimulate the fantastical corners of your mind. Shetty seems like someone cramming the entire syllabus the night before an exam, or a person shoveling food into their mouth without truly enjoying it.

Kantara is a movie of circles. In the 2022 Kantara, a character spins in circles before disappearing. Here, just before the interval, the camera rises from the ground and briefly frames some characters through a circular pattern formed by the surrounding trees. Berme clings to a rope and, in a circular motion, kicks away his enemies. Later, he falls into a circular pit and comes across... something. And then there are those yellow eyes. What do circles signify in Kantara? In this prequel, they seem to suggest that in the circle of life, things repeat. A king goes into a forest and burns the trees. Years later, his grandson enters the same forest and burns... other things. When one ruler dies and his son takes the royal seat, people hope for peace. But when that ruler's son ascends the throne, the situation once again looks grim. Shetty's efforts are visible if you look at the film intently. Berme first saves Kanakavathi (Rukmini Vasanth) from bees, and then from a horse running towards her at full speed. From the way the shops are erected, the items arranged, and the daily business depicted, it feels as if Shetty did some research for this film. He loves this world, but his love can feel fleeting, even dry. The opening scenes rush by so hectically that the voiceover struggles to keep pace with the visuals; there's a slight dissonance between sound and image, each fighting to match Shetty's directorial needs. At times, I couldn't even catch a few names, as the voice was drowned out by the overwhelming music.

After Shetty, the real hero of Kantara: Chapter 1 is the music, by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, that genuinely deserves to be classified as an epic. I didn't like the previous Kantara, but I had been eagerly waiting for this prequel ever since I saw its teaser on the big screen. The reason? That lively, zestful, almost hypnotic music that introduces a trident-wielding figure and announces the release date of the new film. When it does arrive in Kantara: Chapter 1, you feel a surge of rousing energy — you want to beat the drums and scream. But Shetty, the director, undercuts the supreme power of these stirring tunes by using them modestly. They come and go without rhyme or rhythm, and their impact is diminished.

On top of all this, Shetty fills the narrative with humor that works at first, but slowly begins to feel forced and unnecessary. It's one thing to have jokes early in the film, when, for instance, Berme and his men, with Chenna's (Prakash Thuminad) help, venture outside their zone and encounter Kanakavathi. However, when Shetty decides to insert jokes during the scene where Berme and his men go deep into the forest or during the climactic fight, something doesn't seem right. One can't help but see Shetty as an insecure filmmaker — someone who doesn't trust his story or his beats to hold the audience's attention consistently. Is this why the images run instead of breathing? Kantara may be a call for humanity to embrace nature, to coexist with it. Such a message of unity, ironically, comes from a filmmaker uncomfortable with combining ideas and imagination, beauty and grandeur, scale and risk. Shetty plays it too safe; his conventional approach is rescued only by a few twists that provide temporary jolts, rather than surprises that astonish. Shetty the actor and Shetty the director, alas, are overpowered by Shetty the good boy, eager to ensure his producers make their money. Kantara: Chapter 1, ultimately, is the work of a tame, literal-minded fantasist. It rarely soars; it never stings.

Final Score- [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times