Rishab Shetty unpacks the number of drafts it took to lock screenplay of ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’

Mumbai: Actor Rishab Shetty, who is receiving a lot of positive response to his recently released film ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has revealed the number of drafts it took to finalise the screenplay of the film.

The actor spoke with IANS, celebrating the film’s success, at a 5-star property in the Bandra West area of Mumbai, and shared that it took 15-16 drafts to achieve a lean screenplay with every theme, and narrative thread that the makers intended to include in the film.

The first of the ‘Kantara’ franchise, ‘Kantara: A Legend’ was a breakout success. It took the makers including Rishab Shetty by surprise, who had made the film with complete honesty without depending heavily on the market forces.

Talking about the same, Rishab Shetty told IANS, “In the first part, we didn’t write many drafts. We wrote 3-4 drafts, and finished writing in 3-4 months, and we went straight to shooting. It was very simple. When we did the prequel, we started the discussion. We started with the story of Shiva’s father, we finished that script, the bound script was ready. However, later we understood that the first part needs a backstory, so we thought, ‘Let’s go back a little, let’s keep it as a beginning, and let’s not keep it as a legend’”.

He further mentioned, “We finished it then it became a full script, we then understood that we can’t say it in a small part, it’s a complete backstory”.

When asked if there were 7-8 drafts or more than that, he said, “No, I think, 15-16 drafts. Yes, it is almost a 15-16 narration. So, I would say those 15-16 were narration drafts”.

‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has received a broadly positive response, praised for its visuals, scale, and cultural depth. The film has collected INR 421.12 crore net in India.

–IANS