Kantara, the latest phenomenon from Kannada cinema, made waves across the nation becoming the most unlikely pan-Indian success story of the year. The Rishab Shetty directorial, which also stars him in the lead, created quite the frenzy with dubbed versions of the film in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu becoming the rage, and rewriting box-office records across the country.
However, one of the major blips in the film's stellar run came with the controversy surrounding the usage of the song Varaha Roopam, which became the anthem of sorts of the film, considering its placement in the film, and the impact on the narration. The song, which was composed by B Ajaneesh Loknath and had vocals by Sai Vignesh, came under scrutiny when Keralite band Thaikkudam Bridge claimed that it was plagiarised from their song, Navarasam.
With the case being fought in a Kerala high court, the makers of Kantara were asked to take down the song even when the film was running to packed houses.
Now, with the film reaching Amazon Prime Video, we can see that the makers have replaced the song with a completely new composition. However, netizens have mixed emotions towards the new song, which many feel is just a pale shadow of the Varaha Roopa number.
We will have to wait and see where the controversy takes the song and Kantara, and if the film, which was elevated by the number, works just as well without it to an audience who are seeing the film for the first time on OTT.
Kantara follows the struggle between villagers and forest authorities who claim that the villagers have illegally encroached on protected land. The film, written and directed by Rishab Shetty, incorporates local religious traditions and folklore. Rishab Shetty also plays the lead role in the film. It was released on 30 September and received an overwhelmingly positive response.
(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)