By News18,Titas Chowdhury

Copyright news18

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara that released in 2022 became a milestone for the Kannada film industry. It emerged as the second highest grossing Kannada film of all times after Yash starrer KGF: Chapter 2. It also won two National Awards – the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the Best Actor for Rishab. However, it received flak for its portrayal of women, particularly the character played by Sapthami Gowda.
It was criticised for the protagonist Shiva’s misogynistic behaviour and the voyeuristic depiction of his love interest as passive and villainous. Now, as Kantara Chapter 1 has released in theatres, Rishab seemingly takes a jibe at those criticisms. Speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, he says, “I don’t agree when you say that Kantara is a man’s world. The character of the mother (played by Manasi Sudhir) in the first film was very prominent. The character of the daiva nartak is key in the story but the mother’s role is also very important.”
Emphasising on how the climax in the film was not just about him but also the mother’s character, Rishab tells us, “If you remember the climax, when I was performing a dance ritual by embodying a divine spirit, my mother was an integral part of it. She was playing a dhol-like instrument. The daiva nartak could perform the ritual only after taking her blessings. Our film is about the divinity and that’s a superior energy. In the same way, a mother is also synonymous with a superior energy.”

Rishab further adds, “The film was about Shiva. He started off as a borderline villainous character and it was important to showcase that in the service of the story. He goes around doing negative activities and he’s fearless. The only person he’s fearful of is his mother. We’ve also shown his vulnerable side in the film. When he sees a bad dream at night, he runs to his mother and sleeps next to her like a child would do.”
Stating how his women characters have always been the driving factor in his narratives, he remarks, “I give a lot of important to my female characters in all of my films, since the very beginning. In my opinion, even in Kantara Chapter 1, Kanakavathi’s a very strong character. I think I justify my female characters even in a film where the story revolves around a man. I understand the conversations that had happened. But that’s their perspective. I know that I’ve justified them.”
In the prequel, Rukmini Vasanth plays princess Kanakavathi. Defending her role in Kantara Chapter 1, she states, “It explores feminine energy in its own capacity. Film mein yeh mudde ka exploration hua hai aur baad mein iske baare mein charche honge. It’s always nice to see people discussing and having a dialogue on the themes a film touches upon. The character of Kanakavathi has been written with a lot of depth. The audience will find it interesting to see a female character with so much of agency within the Kantara universe.”