Kantara co-producer opens up on turning Rishab Shetty starrer into franchise, says 'once he is back, we will...'

Rishab Shetty's period action thriller Kantara is set to be turned into a franchise, the movie's producers confirmed on Wednesday. Written and directed by Shetty, the hit Kannada film received an overwhelming response upon its release in theatres on September 30.

Reportedly mounted on a meagre budget of Rs 16 crore, the movie has earned over Rs 500 crore worldwide at the box office. Vijay Kiragandur, the co-founder of Hombale Films, said the banner is ecstatic with the response to Kantara and the company will soon start developing "either a prequel or sequel" to the film. "Rishab is away and once he is back, we will discuss what we want to do -- a sequel or a prequel. We will have something in a couple of months. We definitely have plans for Kantara 2 but there's no timeline," Kiragandur told PTI in an interview here. Shetty had earlier said that he plans to make a follow-up to the blockbuster movie.

Set in the fictional village of Dakshina Kannada, Kantara follows a Kambala champion, also played by Shetty, who comes to loggerheads with an upright Forest Range officer, Murali (Kishore). Kambala is an annual race, held from November to March in coastal Karnataka, in which a jockey drives a pair of buffaloes, tied to the plough, through parallel muddy tracks. According to Hombale Films co-founder Chaluve Gowda, the audience connected with the film as it showcased the deep-rooted rituals and beliefs that are prevalent in Indian society.

"These rituals are there all over the world in a different ways. Whatever was there in Kantara, the same story can happen in any part of the country. That's how people connected to Kantara. People related to it. We wanted to show a local subject to a wider audience," Gowda added. Also featuring Achyuth Kumar and Sapthami Gowda in pivotal roles, Kantara was also released in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam languages. Besides the audiences, many industry personalities including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan praised the movie on social media.