First off, I agree that Kantara is likely the most significant and important movie to emerge this year and that in itself is HUGE given the like of KGF, Pushpa, RRR, Kashmir Files etc. And in terms of impact and ROI (Return on Investment) it's probably the biggest after Dangal (let's not forget that Dangal collected more than 2K crores worldwide, so Kantara has a long way to go). Kantara has amazing cinematography, very original and rooted story, great music, and clearly Rishabh Shetty has vaulted into the top tier of Indian cinema with his multi-faceted effort (similar to what Vishal Bharadwaj did with Omkara).... So no arguments with any of that ....kudos to RS and the Kantara team....ššš.
BUT, but ..... We need to stop idolizing this movie as if film history begins with this movie as lots of fans and reviewers seem to be doing. That is totally lopsided and unbalanced, in other words just fanatical mass hysteria - probably because (a) many many people have just started returning to theaters after Corona and (b) this current era coincides with both Bollywood and the Tamil industry hitting more or less rock bottom in creativity (with some exceptions of course).
Let's not forget that Indian cinema (and let's not even go to World cinema), in very era and decade has produced masterpieces that stunned and wowed those audiences and raised their goosebumps who were lucky to see the first releases in theaters. As part of our own process of discovery and personal experience we tend to overlook or forget that others have undergone similar arguably more profound experiences with cinema in the past.
It is our inability to imagine and live in their shoes that causes us to conclude ours must be the greatest. Just two examples will suffice (and there can be 100's of others....arguably almost all movies in the 8-10 range on IMDB, with more than 10,000 reviews).
1. Sholay - I dare anyone to challenge that there is a greater or more thrilling action sequence in Cinema done with real sets, no VFX than the opening train robbery sequence in Sholay, now imagine seeing that for the first time on 70mm in 1976.
2. Pulp Fiction by Tarantino - again it is difficult to imagine the impact this had on the whole cinema world on any level or category that you want - Story? Originality? Script? Editing? Dialogue? The movie is Gold. One can arguably divide world cinema history before and after Pulp Fiction So ....we need to be careful before declaring Kantara as the best thing to happen since sliced bread. It is damn good for sure, but let's all agree it is in Elite Company ....with many others ....(and oh btw.... HUGE shoutout to Tumbbad - in my opinion the most original movie from India in the last many years)
BUT, but ..... We need to stop idolizing this movie as if film history begins with this movie as lots of fans and reviewers seem to be doing. That is totally lopsided and unbalanced, in other words just fanatical mass hysteria - probably because (a) many many people have just started returning to theaters after Corona and (b) this current era coincides with both Bollywood and the Tamil industry hitting more or less rock bottom in creativity (with some exceptions of course).
Let's not forget that Indian cinema (and let's not even go to World cinema), in very era and decade has produced masterpieces that stunned and wowed those audiences and raised their goosebumps who were lucky to see the first releases in theaters. As part of our own process of discovery and personal experience we tend to overlook or forget that others have undergone similar arguably more profound experiences with cinema in the past.
It is our inability to imagine and live in their shoes that causes us to conclude ours must be the greatest. Just two examples will suffice (and there can be 100's of others....arguably almost all movies in the 8-10 range on IMDB, with more than 10,000 reviews).
1. Sholay - I dare anyone to challenge that there is a greater or more thrilling action sequence in Cinema done with real sets, no VFX than the opening train robbery sequence in Sholay, now imagine seeing that for the first time on 70mm in 1976.
2. Pulp Fiction by Tarantino - again it is difficult to imagine the impact this had on the whole cinema world on any level or category that you want - Story? Originality? Script? Editing? Dialogue? The movie is Gold. One can arguably divide world cinema history before and after Pulp Fiction So ....we need to be careful before declaring Kantara as the best thing to happen since sliced bread. It is damn good for sure, but let's all agree it is in Elite Company ....with many others ....(and oh btw.... HUGE shoutout to Tumbbad - in my opinion the most original movie from India in the last many years)