10. Kantara

 

Language: Kannada 

Genre: Mystery 

The myths and legends associated with India's heritage are numerous. Kantara,  written and directed by Rishabh Shetty, is about one such legend- "Bhoothakola" or "Theyyam" , an art form which is popular in Thulunadu and Northern parts of Kerala. The movie begins with a fire, settles for a while before concluding with a wild fire that obliterates evry thing. The plot follows the usual "chosen one" template, with a hero tasked with saving his people from evil. Again, this is just the super-text, the movie delves deep in to issues like dilemma regarding the ownership of nature and nature's ability to retaliate in the sub-texts.There is a fearsome scream that connects the various happenings in the movie, the scream of bhoothakola performer; or in other terms; the scream of the unprivileged landless tribal people.

The film has a good lot of issues, particularly with writing. Like most of the mainstream herocentric movies, once again the writing of love angle in this movie is excessively formulaic and problematic. Additionally, despite a strong start, the movie falls in to the pit of generic mass masala structure,where the events are quite predictable. However, even if the middle portions adhere to a standard pattern, Kantara stand out from the rest due to its technical qualities and clever use of symbolism. And the way the  makers conceived  the final 20 minutes complimenting the beautiful introduction to the folklore and provided a fantastic conclusion to the story, literally blew my mind.

It would be an injustice if I didn't mention the valiance of Rishabh Shetty - the writer, director and main lead of Kantara; who has given his heart and soul for the movie. It's his performance in the last 20 minutes that changed the entire fate of the movie. Take a bow!!

My opinion- Excellent.. Go for it 👌👌👌