Rishab Shetty’s Kantara to be screened at UN on Puneeth Rajkumar’s birth anniversary; actor delivers speech

Rishab Shetty who bought Kannada cinema on the maps with his blockbuster movie Kantara, delivered his speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session at Geneva. On the other hand, the Kannada film will be screened at the United Nations on March 17, which also happens to be actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s birth anniversary. Kantara which emerged as one of the biggest hits of 2022 and received rave reviews, will be played at the Pathe Balexert theatre. Reportedly, post-screening, Rishab will join UN diplomats at a private dinner.

Rishab Shetty also discussed Indian Cinema's role in conversations of forest. He said, "Environmental sustainability is the need of the hour. As an actor and director, my aim is to impact at the grassroots level. Global agencies and the governmental organisations are at the forefront of the pursuit of environmental sustainability. In addition, civil society in India is also involved in local environment protection."

"The medium of cinema holds mirror to such environmental consciousness and plays an important role in showing reality to the world. We are proud that many Indian movies have talked about environment protection through fictional and real stories and created awareness about it. Even in my latest movie Kantara, there are important elements about human life in the lap of nature, local beliefs and ritual of people," he added.

He said that Kantara showed 'how our connection with the environment, its effect on us, co-existence, and cultural values are interdependent'. The film explores local environmental protection, the role of government, and the importance of communities in solving environmental problems.

"Movies like 'Kantara' expose reality and inspire people to face environmental challenges and solve problems. They awaken emotions and move people towards environmental protection. I appeal to everyone present that such hard work should be recognised and encouraged," Rishabh further stated. However, Rishab's speech was stopped after 12 seconds for technical reasons. Sources close to him stated that as the translation was not available, the chance was given to another speaker.

About Kantara

Written and directed by Rishab, the period action thriller received an overwhelming response upon its release in theatres on September 30. Reportedly mounted on a meager budget of Rs 16 crore, the movie has earned over Rs 500 crore worldwide at the box office. The story of Kantara is set around a small community living in the woodlands of Kaadubettu in the southern coastal state of Karnataka. Weaving an interesting plot of human versus nature conflict, where death leads to war between villagers and evil forces and Shiva, a rebel defends his village and nature.