India, Oct. 12 -- The deep sound of a thundering invocation, a warning, a deep cry of pain rings in our ears long after we've left the movie hall. The forest god in Rishab Shetty's Kantara films continues to roar. The first, Kantara (2022), and now, its prequel, Kantara: Chapter 1 are runaway hits. The latter, which released in Indian theatres on October 2, has become the highest grossing Indian film of 2025 with box office returns surpassing Rs.500 crore within a week, based on figures released by its producer, Hombale Films. The 'woooooaaaaavvvvv!" is at once wonder and outrage - a phonetic equivalent of the primal emotion Shetty, writer-director-lead actor, imbues the Kantara films with.

Granted Kantara is no Ne Zha, the animated Chin...