‘Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1’
U/A: Adventure, drama, thiller
Dir: Rishab Shetty
Cast: Rishab Shetty, Jayaram, Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah
Rating: ****1/2

After getting into the lift of a Mumbai suburban mall to catch the late night show of Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1, we overheard an exchange between two young men. “Bollywood khatam hai. Hum bas Adipurush hi bana sakte hain.” It was easy to figure out that they just finished watching the Kannada mythological drama. This disappointment wrapped up in the Bollywood vs South comparison — which feels overdone now — should have been a hint of what was to unfold in the next couple of hours.

Leaving the cinema hall as the film’s end credits continued to roll, it was hard to not give into the impulse of reiterating what those gentlemen said. But keeping the urge to make a sweeping statement aside, there’s just one word needed to describe Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 — transcendental. And the effect lingers on for long after the film, unless interrupted by emergency reality calls. In this case, where one forgot her bag on the seat because she was too awe-struck to bother about her belongings.