Fan Page’s moral policing campaign on “Kantara 2” shocks Rishab Shetty
Fan Page’s moral policing campaign on “Kantara 2” shocks Rishab Shetty
Amidst the trailer launch in Bengaluru on Monday, 23 September, Rishab Shetty said that they were shocked after seeing the post. Adding that nobody has the right to dictate another person’s food choices. How people live is entirely their decision. This has nothing to do with their production house.
The fan page, called Kantara Parva, finally deleted the post and tendered an apology
Further adding that the message he posted earlier has nothing to do with the Kantara film team. It was a personal mistake on his part. Please don’t let anyone take offence. Thank you.
The controversy has been amplified by the fact that the film releases on October 2 — Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary — when, by law, alcohol and meat sales are prohibited across India.
Earlier in a 2022 interview, Shetty had also spoken over the voluntarily avoiding meat for several weeks before filming Kantara as part of his own spiritual preparation. However, he clarified that this was strictly a personal practice, not something he expected of audiences.
Interestingly, the film’s official promotional approach has been deliberately restrained. Besides a first-look video, no teaser was released before Monday’s trailer launch. The cast list, too, was kept under wraps until the event, which revealed Rukmini Vasanth as Kanakavathi and Bollywood actor Gulshan Devaiah as Kulashekara.
The trailer also introduces Berme, a bhoota worshipped in coastal Karnataka. In the first installment, Shetty had courted criticism for describing the Bhoota Kola tradition as part of Hindu culture — a claim contested by cultural historians, who stress that bhootas are distinct from gods in Brahminical Hinduism.
The new film’s visuals reference both Berme and Shiva, reflecting the layered coexistence of folk traditions and mainstream religion.
A prequel to the 2022 blockbuster, Kantara: Chapter 1 ensures a grander canvas. The trailer shows Shetty as a warrior rising against a tyrannical king, hinting at his role as a divine protector.
News Edit KV Raman
