Hombale Films, the production house that was behind the mega-hit Kannada movie Kantara, has confirmed that actor and director Rishab Shetty is working on Kantara 2 and it will be a prequel that explores the folklore that features in the first film. This was revealed by Hombale Films founder Vijay Kiragandur in an interview with Deadline. Rishab Shetty will once again direct and star in the film.
The founder of Hombale Films, Vijay Kiragandur was quoted in Deadline saying that Rishab Shetty is writing the story for Kantara 2 along with his writing associates. He stated that Rishab is currently traversing the forests of coastal Karnataka to conduct research for the film. According to the report, the team is planning to start shooting for the film in June during the monsoon, as rain is a requirement for some scenes. The movie is also going to get a pan-India release by April or May, 2024.
Kantara, which was released in September 2022, in the Kannada language, became a pan-India hit which led to it being dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Prime Video acquired Indian and select international rights to the south Indian language versions of the movie, while Netflix has the English and Hindi versions in some territories.
The film depicts a fictional story set in coastal Karnataka set against the backdrop of a dominant caste landlord grabbing the land of a local tribal community. Kantara depicted native cultures and rituals from coastal Karnataka such as Yakshagana, Bhoota Kola, Daivaradhane and Kambala. The film prompted a discussion over appropriation of non-Hindu cultures in the film through its representation of Bhoota Kola.
Hombale Films, a Bengaluru-based studio, recently pledged to invest Rs 3000 crore in films and series over the next five years.The production house is known for producing Kantara and the KGF film franchise, which became successful across India.