After the phenomenal box office success of Kantara in 2022, actor-director Rishab Shetty is reportedly charging a massive fee for the highly anticipated prequel of the 2022 movie, Kantara: Chapter 1. Industry sources reveal that Shetty has hiked his fee by 2400% for this movie, which has put him in the league of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema.
According to the entertainment portal Koimoi, Shetty, who was the writer, director, and lead actor in the original film, was paid approximately Rs 4 crore for Kantara. The film went on to gross over Rs 400 crore worldwide, earning both critical and commercial acclaim.
After its huge success, the upcoming prequel has become one of the most awaited films of 2025. The report claims that Shetty is now charging Rs 100 crore for Kantara: Chapter 1. Moreover, he is also reportedly on a profit-sharing agreement with the producers at Hombale Films, which could potentially bring in another Rs 50 crore based on how the film performs at the box office.
Scheduled to hit theatres on October 2, 2025, Kantara: Chapter 1 will chronicle the mythological roots and ancestral lore that were hinted at in the first installment. The film promises to take the franchise to new levels with a more expansive storytelling and production scale.
The production has reportedly shot a massive war sequence involving over 500 professionally trained fighters and a technical crew of around 3,000 individuals. The sequence was filmed over a span of 45 to 50 days in a specially built township sprawling across 25 acres, making it one of the most elaborate action set pieces in Indian film history.
For Hombale Films, the banner behind Kantara, their upcoming lineup includes the much-awaited Salaar: Part 2 – Shouryaanga Parvam, along with other major productions across multiple languages.