KGF Chapter 2 to Kantara: Kannada films storm cine world

The bumper show of Kantara at the box office worldwide brings to frame the dazzling performance of Kannada films. First, it was KGF Chapter 1 and the trend picked up the pace with several other movies from the Sandalwood including Yash’s KGF Chapter 2, Puneeth Rajkumar’s James, Kiccha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona, Rakshit Shetty’s 777 Charlie and now its Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara. 

2022 has been a roller coaster ride for the Indian cine industry. While several Bollywood movies starring A-listed actors have failed to woo the audience, the south has begun its dominance across the country. To be more precise, the Kannada Film Industry (KFI) is roaring like never before drawing the attention of the global audience. 

Lately, KFI has forayed into the global market with several other flicks outnumbering several Bollywood movies as well as other flicks from various regional film industries. The journey began with KGF Chapter 1 in 2018 and its roar is still continuing throwing a challenge to several other filmmakers. 

Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar’s James

Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar’s James was released posthumously on March 17 before KGF Chapter 2. The movie had a glorious start with a roaring box office collection. The movie registered a record of the fastest Kannada movie to touch the Rs 100 crore mark. The movie was able to earn Rs 127 crore.

Rocking Star Yash’s KGF Chapter 2 

The Kannada Film Industry (KFI)’s biggest ever flick, KGF Chapter 2 starring Rocking Star Yash, Sriniddhi Shetty, and Sanjay Dutt among others released on April 14. The excitement and anticipation among fans for KGF 2 helped it to emerge as the most successful movie of the year and clinched the second spot in the list of Indian movies with the highest global collection, outranking RRR. KGF 2 stormed the box office globally.

Kiccha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona

Next, it was Kiccha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona that created a buzz in the Indian cine industry. With Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan’s wishes, the movie recorded a whopping lifetime box office collection of Rs 210 crore. 

777 Charlie & Rakshit Shetty’s emotional blockbuster

While all these big-budget movies ringed success at the global box office, Rakshit Shetty’s 777 Charlie emerged as a blockbuster out of nowhere striking the emotional chords of the global audience. Made at a mere budget of Rs 20 crore with a simple concept, the Kannada movie won the hearts of all movie lovers as well as animal lovers which aided the movie to churn out Rs 150 crore globally. The adventure comedy-drama revolves around a lonely man Dharma and a pup named Charlie. The heart-touching story plot wooed the global audience.

Rishab Shetty & the new blockbuster Kantara

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara is the talk of the town. Released on Sept 30, the movie is raking moolah with several biggies from pan industries showering praises for the movie. Kantara has become the highest-rated Indian film on IMDb. With this, it has surpassed KGF Chapter 2 as well as RRR. Though it released along with Mani Ratnam’s PS I, it is unstoppably doing well across the country as well as globally. 

Kantara brings in the story of a mystical forest and a demigod (Bhoota), who trades forest land to the tribe with a king in exchange for happiness. However, several years later, the King’s son gets greedy and demands back his land. Following that, he dies due to the wrath of Bhoota. 

The resounding success of Kantara has paved its path to engrave another milestone. Moreover, it is inching closer to crossing the Rs 100 crore mark, which will expectedly be achieved by this weekend. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur met the Kantara team and wished them success with their film. Moreover, he interacted with the team and listened to their ideas for making India the film hub of the world.

More Kannada movies on cards

Dvitva, starring Puneeth Rajkumar is locked for theatrical release on Dec 23. The psychological drama thriller will likely release pan-India. 

Meanwhile, Superstar Upendra is ready to make a grand entry on the national scene with Kabja. Recently, the makers shared the teaser of the movie which stirred an online debate. Many went on to compare the scenes with that of KGF. Well, the makers have targeted a pan-India release.

Richard Anthony is another Kannada movie that raised excitement among movie lovers with its first poster. The mystery drama with a layered storyline, Richard Anthony: The Lord of The Sea will likely release on Dec 25, 2023.

Produced under Hombale Films and directed by Prashanth Neel, Salaar, starring Prabhas in the lead is one of the most anticipated movies. The movie also starring Shruti Haasan will expectedly hit the theatres on Sept 28, 2023. Though it's a Telugu language movie, the director and production house’s origin being from KFI, it is touted that the movie will expectedly do well in Kannada as well. 

Moreover, KGF Chapter 3 is another blockbuster that fans across the world are eagerly waiting for. Though there are no official updates regarding KGF 3, the anticipation among movie lovers for the flick has reached the zenith.

Apart from the above-mentioned movies, KFI has several more flicks in the pipeline. Time will reveal if the makers eye the global audience with their projects or not.