General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20266 min read

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada: ಕಾಂತಾರ ಆ ಲೆಜೆಂಡ್: ಚಾಪ್ಟರ್ 1) is a 2025 Indian Kannada-language historical action film directed, written, and headlined by Rishab Shetty, and a prequel to the 2022 action thriller Kantara.¹ Produced by Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda under the Hombale Films banner, it was released theatrically in India on 2 October 2025, a date chosen to coincide with the festival of Vijayadashami.²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Release	2 October 2025 (India, wide theatrical), coinciding with Vijayadashami³
Certification and length	CBFC UA 16+, certified length 168.53 minutes, certificate dated 22 September 2025, Regional Office Bangalore²
Setting	Pre-colonial Karnataka during the Kadamba dynasty, described as the first dynasty of Karnataka²^•⁴
Lead cast	Rishab Shetty as Berme, Rukmini Vasanth as Kanakavathi, Jayaram as Vijayendra, Gulshan Devaiah as Kulashekara⁵
Key crew	Music B. Ajaneesh Loknath; cinematography Arvind S Kashyap; editing Suresh M²^•⁶
Languages	Kannada original, with dubbed releases in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Bengali³
Box office	₹8.512 billion (₹851.23 crore) worldwide gross per FilmiBeat; ₹8.524 billion (₹852.36 crore) per Sacnilk; 5.84 billion–5.85 billion (584–585 crore) nett across all versions in India per Box Office India⁷^•⁸^•⁹
Reception	85% Tomatometer from 13 reviews and 92% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes⁴

Spoilers

Story and setting

The film is set during the reign of the Kadambas, described in its censor certificate as the first dynasty of Karnataka.² Its plot centers on Bangra, a fictional feudatory ruled by King Vijayendra, who has pledged loyalty to the Kadambas and commands their sea trade; the certificate's plot summary describes him as a feared leader who celebrated slavery and atheism.²

In the synopsis given by streaming listings, Vijayendra meets his final fate while venturing into the mystical forest of Kantara. His son Rajashekara seals the borders of the realm in response, and later Prince Kulashekara reopens them through a massacre. The protagonist Berme, seeking prosperity, crosses the divide and sparks a clash of faith, power, and destiny between the Kingdom and Nature.⁵ Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis frames the film as showing the ritual of Bhuta Kola (ritual spirit-possession dance of coastal Karnataka) taking root in the culture of pre-colonial Karnataka during the Kadamba dynasty, while the rise of Kaadubettu Shiva also begins.⁴ As a prequel, the film explores the origins of Kaadubettu Shiva, the protagonist of the 2022 Kantara, and explains the backstory of the daivas and the guliga seen in that film.¹^•¹⁰ A television broadcast listing places the story in 4th-century CE India.¹¹

Production and release

Rishab Shetty wrote the story, screenplay, and dialogues and directed the film, in addition to playing the lead.² The music is by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, who also scored the 2022 film, and the cinematography is credited to Arvind S Kashyap.⁶ The action directors include Arjun Raj, Ram Laxman, Todor Lazarov (Juji), Mahesh Mathew, and Mithun Singh Rajput.²

The first-look teaser was released on 27 November 2023, and the release date of 2 October 2025 was announced in November 2024.³^•¹² The official trailer was released on 22 September 2025 in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, unveiled by stars including Hrithik Roshan, Sivakarthikeyan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Prabhas.¹³ Producer Vijay Kiragandur said the film would release across more than 7,000 screens in India.¹⁴ The film was released in Kannada with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and Malayalam.³ It began streaming on Prime Video India on October 31, 2025, in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, with the Hindi version arriving later.¹⁵^•¹⁶ In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification classified the film 2D at 166 minutes 39 seconds for strong violence, with a listed release date of 15 October 2025.¹⁷

Box office

The film opened strongly in India. FilmiBeat reports an opening day worldwide collection of ₹618.5 million (₹61.85 crore) and a cumulative worldwide gross of ₹8.512 billion (₹851.23 crore), made up of ₹7.402 billion (₹740.23 crore) India gross and ₹1.11 billion (₹111.00 crore) overseas.⁷ Sacnilk's running total gives ₹8.524 billion (₹852.36 crore) worldwide in 91 days, comprising ₹7.414 billion (₹741.36 crore) India gross and ₹1.11 billion (₹111.00 crore) overseas.⁸ Box Office India estimated a final 5.84 billion–5.85 billion (584–585 crore) nett across all versions in India, which it called the best total of the year counting all versions.⁹ These figures differ because they measure gross versus nett and come from different trackers; the sources do not fully agree, and each is reported as published.

Outside India, Box Office Mojo records a worldwide gross of $5,781,691 from reported territories, with the United Arab Emirates the largest single market at $3,079,231, followed by Australia at $1,182,753 and the United Kingdom at $762,963.¹⁸ The Numbers lists a smaller tracked total of $2,909,081 and notes a Japanese limited release scheduled for September 18, 2026 under the title カーンターラ　炎の決戦.¹⁹ A January 2026 commentary in The South Asian Insider described the film as India's second-biggest box-office success of 2025.²⁰ The Indian Express reported that the prequel outperformed the 2022 Kantara in overall collection, though its original Kannada version earned a little over half of the earlier film's ₹4.078 billion (₹407.82 crore) worldwide.²¹

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 85% Tomatometer from 13 reviews and a 92% Popcornmeter from more than 500 verified ratings.⁴ Critics singled out the visuals. Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express, rating it 3 out of 5, wrote that Shetty offers audiences a visual treat while compensating for narrative deficiencies.⁴ India Today gave 4 out of 5 stars, praising Arvind S Kashyap's cinematography, Ajaneesh Loknath's music, and the visual effects, and noting that some graphics in the second half lack finesse.²² The Hindustan Times review called the film uneven but visually splendid, praising Shetty's transformation scenes as the guliga and Rukmini Vasanth's expanded role, while criticizing a scattered first half with forced humor.¹⁰ Recurring criticisms across reviews were pacing in the first half and a narrative that several critics found less emotionally forceful than the 2022 film; Rotten Tomatoes' audience summary describes it as an extraordinary feat of world-building that may have soared higher with a tighter narrative focus.⁴^•²³

Awards

At the South Indian International Movie Awards, the film won Best Film (Kannada), with Rishab Shetty winning Best Actor, Gulshan Devaiah Best Actor in a Negative Role, B. Ajaneesh Loknath Best Music Director, and Pramod Maravante Best Lyric Writer for "Madana Mana Mohini"; IMDb lists 11 wins and 3 nominations overall.²⁴ Rishab Shetty also won the Best Director award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, and Rukmini Vasanth won Best Actress Pan India Movie at the Iconic Gold Awards.²⁴

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Kannada films of the 2020s

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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