When Indian star and filmmaker Rishab Shetty ’s “Kantara” released in 2022, few could have predicted that a Kannada-language film steeped in local folklore would turn into a cultural phenomenon.

Shot on a modest budget, the film grossed more than $50 million worldwide, ran for over 100 days in Indian cinemas and built a second life on Prime Video, where its haunting imagery and hypnotic song “Varaha Roopam” found audiences far beyond South India. “Kantara” became shorthand for the potential of Kannada-language cinema to compete on a national and global scale, alongside Hombale Films ’ other breakout franchise, “K.G.F.”

Shetty, who wrote, directed and headlined the original, is now returning with a prequel: “ Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1 .” Set centuries before the events of the firs

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