‘Kantara’ is a film produced by Hombale Films in 2022 starring rishabh Shetty. The film was based on the story of the goddess Panchuruli, worshipped by the people living in the hilly areas of Karnataka. It received a huge response in India. The film was dubbed and released in other languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, kannada, and Hindi. The work on the second part of this film, which made the world look back, began last year. While the shooting is currently in full swing, the deaths of artists working on the film have come as a shock. Many unfortunate incidents are also taking place.

Kerala junior artist Kapil, who was playing a leading role in the film ‘Kantara 2’, went to bathe in the Chauparnika river during a break in the shooting. There he was swept away and died. Following him, comedian Rakesh Poojary (33) died of a heart attack while dancing at a friend’s wedding. It is noteworthy that he played a leading role in the film ‘Kantara 2’. Mimicry artist and actor Viju passed away after a heart attack. He was staying at a hostel for junior artists and was taken to the hospital with chest pain. But he died on the way.
While the film crew is in fear due to the continuous incidents, another incident has occurred. In june 2025, a 30-member film crew with rishabh Shetty went to shoot at the Mani reservoir in Shivamogga district. Then the boat suddenly capsized. Fortunately, everyone survived as the boat capsized in a shallow area. However, the camera and other filming equipment were damaged by water. Earlier in november 2023, a minibus carrying 20 junior artists met with an accident in the Mudur area. However, no one was injured in the accident. Another day, an expensive set erected for the film was damaged due to unexpected heavy rain and wind. This caused a loss of over Rs. 3 crore to the film crew.
The first part of ‘Kantara’ was in the news as soon as it was released. The song “Varaha Roopam..” featured in the film was accused of being copied from the song “Navarasam..” by the Kerala-based band ‘Thaikudam Bridge’. The court banned the use of the song “Varaha Roopam..” in the film. The matter was settled after a long legal battle, after which director rishabh Chetty sparked controversy by calling the Bhootkola dance a part of Hindu culture. kannada actor Chertan Kumar objected to the Bhootkola dance as a form of tribalism and that tribals were here before hinduism emerged in India. A case was registered against him and he was arrested for this.

Since the film ‘Kantara’ started, many unfortunate incidents have been happening. Due to this, the film crew is said to be afraid to act in this film. The team is planning to release this film on october 2, 2025. The question has arisen that the film will be released as planned due to the continuous tragic incidents.
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Sowmiya Sriram

17/06/2025 10:29 AM