Kantara (Kānthāra; transl. "Mystical Forest") is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur, under Hombale Films. The film stars Shetty as a Kambala champion, who comes to loggerheads with an upright DRFO officer, Murali (Kishore). Achyuth Kumar and Sapthami Gowda feature in supporting roles.
Set and filmed in Keradi in coastal Karnataka, principal photography began in August 2021.[5] The cinematography was handled by Arvind S. Kashyap, with B. Ajaneesh Loknath scoring music for the film and the action sequences were choreographed by the action director Vikram More. The production design was handled by debutant, Dharani Gange Putra.
Kantara was released on 30 September 2022 and received critical acclaim from both the critics, who praised the cast performances (particularly Shetty and Kishore), direction, writing, production design, cinematography, proper showcasing of the Bhoota Kola, action sequences, editing, soundtrack, and musical score.[6] The film became the third highest-grossing Kannada film of 2022 and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Kannada films.