Kantara makers face heat over 'do not imitate Bhoota Kola' appeal

As videos of fans imitating the dramatic Bhoota Kola ritual, dressed up in the traditional gear, yelling in a fierce manner, and “acting possessed” went viral, Hombale Films, the producers of Kantara, intervened to address the growing concern from the Tulu community.

At first they issued a legal notice warning people that they will face legal action if they indulge in such activities. However, after a severe backlash questioning their “rights” over a folklore tradition from coastal Karnataka steeped in the worship of local gods, the company pulled it down and replaced it with a request.

Respect tradition

In their note, the production house pointed out that Kantara and its prequel Kantara Chapter-1 had respectfully portrayed the unwavering devotion for the Daivas and performed the Bhoota Kola with profound respect. This tradition holds deep significance for the Tulu community, they said.

Criticising people for imitating the Daiva characters from the movie and engaging in "inappropriate behaviour" in public spaces and gatherings, they said, “Dhaivaradhane or Daiva worship, as featured in our film, is rooted in deep spiritual tradition and is not intended for performance or casual mimicry. Such acts amount to trivialising our belief system and deeply hurt the religious sentiments and faith of the Tulu community.”

Also read: Kantara Chapter 1 review: Prequel dazzles; a divine spectacle of faith and fury

And, Hombale Films urged public and audiences to refrain from any act that involves imitating, mimicking, or trivialising the Daiva personas—whether in cinema halls or in public places.

Hypocritical behaviour

However, the backlash was swift. Social media users on X scoffed at the filmmakers for making huge bucks on the movie based on this tradition and said that now they had no right to restrain people from imitating the Bhoota Kola. They slammed them for their “hypocritical” behaviour and said they had no right to preach.

Further, they felt that the production house did not have any copyright over the age-old folklore tradition.

“You guys have no right to preach about respecting Daivas when you turned their sacred traditions into a blockbuster cash grab. jacked up ticket prices to sky-high levels just to rake in profits and now you're out here posting moral lectures?" said one user.

Many believed that the creators of Kantara had introduced audiences to this fascinating form of worship, but were now struggling to contain the surge of public enthusiasm it has unleashed.

Also read: Kantara Chapter 1: Why Rishab Shetty embraced vegetarianism for some scenes in prequel

Another user said, “What a silly request is this? You guys literally made a movie out of it and charged people money to watch it. People are going to imitate. If Yakshagaana is an art, even Daiva enactment will be one especially after Rishab Shetty’s depiction.”

No moral high ground

Stop "virtue signaling”, said one user. "You guys are literally making money out of the tradition. You guys didn’t make a not-for-profit documentary. Though, people doing in public places is wrong but that doesn’t give the right to you to be on higher moral ground."

"You break the same rules you preach. And that too because you profit from it. You ought to preach moral lessons because, if the consequences are bad, you don't wanna look like the culprit who started it. You sold the tickets. Now enjoy the show,” mocked one user.

Another person questioned if the daiva (god) was on Rishab Shetty when he made the movie? “He imitated that to gain money. Similarly people on social media are doing it to gain recognition,” the person pointed out.

Some social media users, however, were sympathetic to the filmmakers. Pointing out that these are very sensitive rituals and have to be performed in a proper manner and not in an ill-informed way, they reiterated that these rituals cannot be taken lightly.

"Kindly refrain from humiliating a ritual and belief that is sacred to a large community The movie was made with good intentions to let the world know the sacred & beautiful rituals of our SANATAN DHARMA. Such acts create hurdles in bringing such REAL FOLKLORE into the limelight," said one user.

Religious belief of Tulus

The Tulu community consider this sacred ritual as part of a deity worship. In the Bhoota Kola ritual, a divine dancer with a painted face and feathered gear, doles out justice to human beings and resolves disputes through the word of god. It is a form of spirit worship with performance elements. This entire religious belief of the Tulus is steeped in deep discipline, devotion and reverence.

Don't trivialise cultural custom

Meanwhile, Kannada filmmaker K M Chaitanya, who is currently working on Balaramana Dinagalu, a gangster film set in Bangalore of the 1980s, felt the backlash is unjustified as Hombale Films was well within its rights to issue a public appeal.

"It is an important sacred ritual of the Tulus. People are making memes and reels on this. It is like opening a pandora’s box and they need to contain it before it gets out of hand. Hombale Films is not dictating but just asking people not to trivialise this sacred cultural custom, that seems fair. I can also request people not to make propaganda films against Muslims can't I?" Chaitanya said.

Sources in the Kannada film industry, however, also feel that the Kantara producers are adept at creating controversies to stir up more interest in the newly-released movie.