Apart from the last 10-12 minutes of Kantara that are quite overwhelming, there’s another sequence that left a strong impression on me. And that’s what I want to talk about today.
PS- spoilers ahead !
I recently watched Kantara and had a lot of emotions. But so much has already been said about the film and I don’t think I have anything new to add to that.
However, there’s one portion of the film that exemplify sheer brilliance of writer-director Rishab Shetty, his knowledge of the subject and how he subtly encourages the audience to use their imagination with exceptional visual storytelling.
Before I proceed, keep this in mind that our protagonist’s name is Shiva.
The sequence in the second half, after Shiva finds out about his cousin Guruva’s murder and goes to his friend’s shop to get high. He talks to the blacksmith while smoking up and just then is attacked by landlord Devendra’s henchmen.
This fight sequence is what had my attention.
Shiva’s senses are so heightened that he fights off a dozen men in a very skilfully choreographed brawl. Every punch, kick and blow are performed with tremendous finesse and proficiency, but with equal amount of monstrous rage and aggression.
It all plays out almost like a dance – like Tandav.
Shiva was performing Rudra Tandav, which is a form of Tandav performed in a violent and destructive state.
But that’s not all.
Another element that symbolizes the fierce and destructive nature of Rudra Tandav is thunder and lightning. Shiva fights the henchmen whilst a thunderstorm arose.
The rain was also use as a symbol to “cleanse” Shiva off his sins.
And in the last 10 minutes, we see Shiva perform another type of Tandav at the Bhoota Kola – Anand Tandav – The dance of bliss where Shiva emerges in his purest form and experiences transcendence.
You can watch Kantara on Prime video in, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam and on Netflix in Hindi. And read the full review of the film here.
