IFFI 2023: Golden Peacock Award nomination a proud moment for ‘Kantara’ team, says Rishab Shetty

Film-maker and actor Rishab Shetty on Tuesday said that being nominated for the Golden Peacock Award is a proud moment for the ‘Kantara’ team. He was interacting with the media on the sidelines of the 54th International Film festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

Representing the vibrant and dynamic Kannada film industry, his widely celebrated feature Kantara, of which he is the director, actor and writer, is one of the three Indian films to make it to this year’s list of 15 exceptional films competing for the prestigious Golden Peacock award at IFFI 54.

‘Kantara’ is a 150 mins long Kannada masterpiece that has taken the audiences and critics by storm ever since its release last year. A spell-binding tribute to culture and folklore, Kantara weaves magic as it portrays the complex and dynamic conflict between man and nature, through the magical medium of dance and emotion.

“The audience connected with Kantara because it is a story rooted in the culture of Bharat,” said Shetty. “The audience took the film to where it is today, truly making it their own,” he further added.

“I belong to this tradition, I believe in this ritual and I worship this God. We took care that we do not hurt anybody’s emotion and made sure that there was no damage to the culture or community,” he elaborated.

Speaking about Kannada cinema, Rishab Shetty spoke about the OTT challenge where platforms are still apprehensive about Kannada audiences and are not open to Kannada films yet, causing critical losses in the industry. “Cinema has given us so much, we must give back to Kannada cinema,” asserted Shetty.

He firmly believes that content in Indian cinema today has truly gone global. “At present, there is a revolution underway-good content is widely accepted overcoming the language barriers,” Shetty expressed.