Review

Okay here it goes. Here's my review of Kantara.

People really like movies or stories with subsurface level details. This is why movies like Zootopia work. And also why I’ve never seen the Avatar movies again.

At the surface, Kantara seems like a story that’s a land dispute. The only difference being a deity who intervenes on behalf of the tribe. Even at this surface level the story works very well. There’s good, there’s evil, there’s a tiny little twist (where we find out the zamindar has been evil the whole time) and a great finish when good ultimately wins over evil.

I feel there’s more to that than this.

All gods are the same.

Every Pagan culture on Earth, no matter where they are from, South America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa... anywhere even when they are not in contact with each other.... has a deity that is essentially "The man of the forest".

This “man of the forest” is usually accompanied by a companion animal. Sometimes its a woman of the forest. But the theme is the same. These deities of the forest make themselves known through dreams. Which means every culture has had shared dreams of the same deity. This is why they all share the same traits.

Hinduism’s God, Shiva, is essentially a man of the forest. The film alludes to this.

We are lead to believe that the forest deity is Varaha Avatara. The protagonist is called “Shiva” though. There’s a scene where the forest officer finally manages to catch him and asks him to “Climb down from Kailasa”. Meaning they are one and same. Which make sense, since we have the same God in Hinduism having different names.

The Ego must die

There’s a beautiful sequence of events that unfolds in the movie. You see, for a deity to possess someone, the ego must die. The “YOU” part of self must die. Panjurli first appears in Shiva’s dreams, but Shiva is just too head strong. Too drunk, too self obsessed.

Shiva wrecks havoc on the forest. Killing the very animal that he’s supposed to be worshipping... felling trees for the zamindar etc. There’s a point in the movie where the forest has had enough and calls for help. This is when the tree falls on the forest officer almost killing him. This leads to Shiva becoming a fugitive. When he is finally caught, humiliated and jailed.. he suffers an ego death.

He’s almost ready at this point. When he is out on bail Panjurli comes to him one final time and I feel at this point, Shiva realizes what’s coming to him and what he must do. Notice how he hesitates when the final battle begins? Finally, he actually dies in that final battle when his head is bashed against the rock. Only after that Panjurli can possess him. After that Panjurli never leaves him. The Deity ensures Shiva’s lineage continues. The last dance where Panjurli gets everyone together is a scene of pure love. Imploring everyone to work together.

That’s when he gets called back. The debt to death must be paid and he thus disappears.

Festivals

Everyone raves about the last 20 minutes, but the first 15 minutes show the evolution of a festival. The initial event takes place and after some time there’s a muted festival consisting of only Panjurli’s dance. By the time of Shiva, it has become a full blown Kambala festival. I thought that was great.

Notice the “Panjurli” dance when Guruva does it? Guruva is Shiva’s cousin and in the absence of Shiva has taken up the job of becoming “Panjurli” during the festival. Notice how “fake” it looks? Because it really is. Guruva, I think, yearns, for Panjurli appearance. He is sincere and a true believer. Shiva on the other hand gets to be Panjurli..and I think it is tragic to know that Guruva dies without seeing Panjurli for real.

Overall.. many layers in the movie. For sure, I will be thinking of this for a long time.