The much awaited launch of 2022 blockbuster Kannada film, Kantara's prequel, Chapter 1's trailer was launched on 22nd semptember. It has garnered more than 1.5 crore views in less than 24 hours, with social media going abuzz regarding the events that could transpire within the film. The trailer, gives us a glimpse into an erstwhile kingdom, wherein the people of "Kantara" resided, under the rule of a king, who is seen as the primary antagonist of the plot, played by Gulshan Devaiah.
It starts off where the first film ended with the son asking about the vanishing of his father, and what we get thereafter is the narration of the folk tale that gives rise to everything that comes ahead. We see a fresh set of actors and characters, and a lot of action induced music. Having become a sensation, upon its release, Kantara didn't just stand out as a marvel, but also directed the optics towards regional cinema and Kannada cinema in particular.
It paved the way for a sea of period folk films, both at the indie level and by the big studios, with the audience jumping on the bandwagon. The success of films like HanuMan, Munjya, Kalki 2898 AD etc, made the upcoming film one of the most anticipated amongst the Indian audience, but shortly, after the trailer released to much fare, it courted a controversy.
A post made rounds on X and Instagram, from a page called "Kantara Parva", insisting the viewers to take up a pledge, i.e. "Kantara sankalpa", to follow three "divine" steps, which entails, refraining oneself from alchohol, smoking, or meat consumption, on the day of watching the film, in theatres, and to fill up a google form, which in turn will issue them a certificate. Many followed suit, and upon receiving the certificates shared it on X.
The post was identical to the official studio's, promo and logos, and created quite the stir, around its foray into perosnal eating habits. Drawing backlash from the social media, people were eager to point out that consumption of meat is an essential part of the Daiva Kola ritual, which the film surrounds itself around. Similarly during the promotion of Kantara back in 2022, Rishab Shetty the actor, writer and director, had spoken about not eating meat for around a month, as a "personal preparation" for the shoot of the film. Facing widespread flak, the fan page, which is now deleted, decided to remove the post and issue an apology, stating it was a personal mistake and people shouldn't be offended.
Speaking to the press at the trailer launch, Rishab Shetty denied being involved in any such campaign, both personally and in the capacity of the production house as well. He said, “We were shocked when we saw the post. Nobody has the right to question another person’s food choices. It is up to them to decide how they want to live their life. This has nothing to do with our production house”.