Kantara : Legend Chapter 1 (2025): Cast, Story & OTT Details

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 is a prequel to the 2022 film Kantara, set in pre-colonial coastal Karnataka. It goes back to the origins of the tradition and the ancestral conflict introduced in the first film, and Rishab Shetty plays several roles.

Release date and status

Kantara : Legend Chapter 1 released on 2 October 2025. Release markets: India (theatrical), worldwide. Language: Kannada (dubbed in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and other languages).

Release strategy and distribution

Chapter 1 opened on 2 October 2025, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti and Vijayadashami, in standard, IMAX, D-Box, ICE, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and EPIQ formats, with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam dubs. Shortened English and Spanish versions followed on 31 October 2025. Hombale distributed in Karnataka, Prithviraj Productions in Kerala, AA Films in North India, and a group led by Mythri Movie Makers and Geetha Arts in the Telugu states. A planned Chennai pre-release event on 30 September 2025 was cancelled after the Karur crowd crush.

OTT release

The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 31 October 2025 in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The Hindi dubbed version followed on the same platform on 27 November 2025. Wikipedia reports that Prime Video paid ₹125 crore for the digital rights.

Cast and crew

• Director: Rishab Shetty
• Writer: Rishab Shetty, Anirudh Mahesh, Shanil Goutham
• Music: B. Ajaneesh Loknath
• Cast: Rishab Shetty, Jayaram, Rukmini Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah

Production history

After the success of Kantara (2022), Rishab Shetty confirmed a prequel in February 2023. The script took about eight months to write with Shanil Goutham and Anirudh Mahesh. Set in pre-colonial coastal Karnataka under the Kadambas of Banavasi, it explores the origins of the Panjurli and Guliga daivas, and Shetty plays four roles. Filming began with a pooja in November 2023. A large part was shot in April 2024 in Shetty's village, Keradi in Kundapura, on a set built by more than 600 carpenters, and Shetty learned horse riding, Kalaripayattu and sword fighting for the role.

The shoot moved to the Sakleshpur forests in January 2025, where the makers were fined ₹50,000 for dumping material in a protected area. In February 2025, a war sequence involving more than 500 trained fighters and about 3,000 people was filmed over nearly 50 days on a 25-acre hillside set. A crew bus accident near Jadkal in November 2024 briefly halted production. The last schedule was filmed near Kundapur in May 2025, and filming wrapped by July 2025. Hombale Films' Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda produced the film.

Music

B. Ajaneesh Loknath, who scored the first film, composed the songs and background score. "Brahmakalasha" was released on 28 September 2025 and "Rebel Song" on 1 October 2025, with Diljit Dosanjh singing the Hindi version. The full album followed on 11 October 2025.

Certification and runtime

The runtime is 169 minutes.

Box office

The film sold about 12.8 lakh tickets online on day one and grossed about ₹89 crore worldwide, including roughly ₹20 crore from the Hindi version. It crossed ₹100 crore in two days, grossed ₹325–335 crore over the extended four-day opening weekend and passed ₹500 crore in its eight-day first week. According to Wikipedia, it sold about 8.2 million BookMyShow tickets in that first week, more than Jawan or Jailer.

The film ended its run with an estimated ₹850–852 crore worldwide. It is the second highest-grossing Kannada film ever, the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 and the first film to gross more than ₹250 crore in Karnataka. It is also the sixth Hindi-dubbed film to gross ₹200 crore in India.

Critical reception

Reviews were positive; Rotten Tomatoes listed 82% of 11 critics' reviews as positive (average 6.5/10). Janani K of India Today (4/5) highlighted how it blends the man-versus-nature conflict and land rights with folklore and faith. Bollywood Hungama (4/5) said it deepens the world of the first film and praised the pre-climax and climax. Kashvi Raj Singh of News18 (3.5/5) called it a visual treat despite some flaws.

Sequel

The ending sets up Kantara: Chapter 2, which will link Chapter 1 to the 2022 film. No release date had been announced as of 25 September 2026.