The pillars of Kantara

The village named Keradi in Kundapura taluk has become the talk of the town, thanks to the film Kantara, which is set in and around the place. Directed by Rishab Shetty, the film touches upon human-nature conflict. Bankrolled by KGF producer Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale films, the interesting star cast and the technicians have created the right kind of buzz.  

We talk to the offscreen heroes of Kantara – the composer, cinematographer, art director, and costume designer

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“Kantara is a culture-based, folklore film,” says  Ajaneesh B Loknath

Ajaneesh B Loknath, one of the busiest music directors of the Kannada industry is in the spotlight now for his latest hits Vikrant Rona and Guru Shishyaru. His next, Kantara directed by Rishab Shetty is equally gaining attention. Sharing his experience of scoring music in Rishab Shetty’s directorial, Ajaneesh says, “In musical context Kantara as a culture-based, folklore film.”  Though the composer had previously worked in the genre in films like Rangitaranga and Ulidavaru Kandhante, he says the music in Kantara is different from the other films. “The music for Rishab Shetty’s film is very deep. We have gathered 30 to 40 musicians, approximately 10 in a group, residing in and around Kundapura, to play for us and we got at least 40 hours of recording, which is mostly used as the background score. The film’s tagline is Danthakathe, which means legendary story, so we had to stay rooted to the culture of the ’90s.” He adds that the background score excites him more than songs as there is immense scope for experimentation.

Team Kantara took guidance from Mime Ramdas, who has deep knowledge of folklore music. “Daivaradhane, a multifaceted art is incorporated in the film, and folklore music is also represented using Janapada songs and traditional instruments. Songs that are usually sung by common people during harvest and the songs that were popular among the Adivasis were used as a part of the album and the background score," he says. 

Kantara has three timelines and costumes are designed accordingly: Pragathi Shetty

The film is set in the ’90s, and a lot of work went into designing the costumes to match that period,” says costume designer, Pragathi Shetty. Her travel with the project began at the time when the writer-director Rishab, also her husband, came up with a one-liner for the film. “Kantara has three timelines – 1890, the 1970s, and 1990s – and since the story revolves around the tribal community, we had to bring in authenticity to the costumes and make them look realistic. Since we didn’t have many references through books, Rishab and the team travelled the entire village and met the tribal community, who gave details about their dress. We had most of the junior artists roped in from Kundapura, and it was a challenge for me to convince them to wear tribal costumes. We also took reference to design the costume for the forest guard, played by Sapthami Gowda. We heard each year, the colour of the uniform would change, and everything, including the badges was customised,” says Pragathi.

Kantara has helped me to get a break in the Malayalam industry: Arvind Kashyap

Cinematographer Aravind Kashyap, a true-blue Bengalurean shares that capturing the essence of the land and culture of the coastal belt was his biggest challenge. “My travel with Rishab Shetty from the pre-production time helped me do detailed research and figure out the right lighting for the ’90s period. We didn’t want to alienate the culture in the name of cinematic liberty. For the first time, we shot inside the woods, and in an uncontrolled environment. We were always warned of snakes and other creatures in the surrounding. We shot in four forest locations and were learning on the go, and each time we got a better clarity,” says Arvind, who had previously associated with Rakshit Shetty’s 777 Charlie.

The cinematographer says that Kantara has a lot of edge-of-the-seat moments, and the interval block especially will be a big treat to witness on screen. The film will be a complete theatrical experience. Arvind, who has worked in 7 films, says he used to get recognition for his work, but Kantara has taken him a notch higher. “The film has helped me get a break in the Malayalam industry. A filmmaker from Mollywood, who watched the teaser of this film, has offered me to join his film, which I consider to be a big break,” says Arvind Kashyap.

A lot of natural sources were used to create the set of Kantara: Darani Gangeputra

For art director Darani Gangeputra, the biggest challenge was to keep his work as close to nature as possible. “We had created an entire village using a set inside the forest matching the ’90s. We had to create a structure to represent the traditional houses of the oppressed community, which vary in height. The locals helped us get a better understanding of the environment and atmosphere of that period. We had a miniature set-up, which was done in consultation with director Rishab Shetty and DoP. A lot of natural sources were used to create the setups,” says Darani, who goes on to reveal that a tree of 60-feet in height, will be a highlight. “Apart from this, we created a school, temple, and a tree house. We had 35 people from Bangalore and 15 people from the Keradi village, who helped us to study the culture, says Darani.