Kantara Chapter 1 teaser out: Rishab Shetty's prequel to be set in 300 CE?
Ever since Kantara hit screens in September 2022, fans have been waiting to know more about the world of Panjuluri Deva. Rishab Shetty took to social media on Monday to share the teaser of Kantara The Legend - Chapter 1, which serves as a prequel to the first film in the instalment.
At the beginning of the teaser, Rishab asks the audience if they can see the ‘light’ that helps them look both into the ‘past and the future.’ His character Shiva can be seen looking up at the moon before he’s introduced in a completely different avatar.
Rishab was seen in at least three different looks in Kantara, with the fan-favourite being when he dons the greasepaint to play Panjuluri Deva. The teaser sees him in a whole new look, complete with long hair and a ripped body, with a trishool in hand.
While not much is known about the film’s story, what’s clear is that this time around, Rishab takes the audience farther back into the story. ‘During the reign of Kadambas,’ reads one of the title cards shown in the teaser, hinting that the film will be set in 300 CE. For the unversed, the Kadambas, who existed from 345-540 CE, were an ancient royal family from Karnataka. They ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan. One legend surrounding their origins goes that the Trilochana Kadamba emerged from the sweat of Lord Shiva.
Kantara, which Rishab both directed and acted in, saw him in a dual role as Shiva and his father, a Daiva Kola performer. The film tells the coming-of-age story of a man who is possessed by Guliga Deva and Panjuluri Deva to rid the village of evil. The film ends with Shiva disappearing into the forest to meet his father’s spirit, who had also disappeared in a similar manner.
Shooting for the prequel will commence later this month, with the film slated to hit screens in 2024. B Ajaneesh Loknath, who composed the tunes for the original, will also compose for this film.
