Bramha Kumar, Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe, says the Hindi film, Kantara: A Legend — Chapter 1, teaches civilisations and communities to solve conflicts and create lasting mutually beneficial relationships.
In his speech at the Platinum Cinema, Westgate in Harare, on Saturday, Kumar said India aimed at creating dialogue and harmony among civilisations.
He recalled his recently held Lok Kala Sandhya, which was organised last September, where the Sanskruti Dance Academy performed famous folk dances as a way of adding cultural appreciation and entertainment to people.
Kumar added that Bollywood, as Indian films are affectionately called, not only focused on international themes and but also compelled developers to tell their own stories through regional cinema.
The central theme of the film goes with the spirit of a classic Indian novel, Ananda Matha, published in 1882, which depicts a rebellion against colonial powers and a local tyrannical ruler.
The novel features one of the most popular Indian songs, Vande Mataram, which was composed by the author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on November 7, 1875.
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Through the film, Kantara: A Legend — Chapter 1, which runs for approximately two hours and 50 minutes, one gets a picture of how creative industries like fashion, music and sound, design and technology, film and photography, and oral tradition can be united to provide an interesting, educational and entertainment narrative.
The private viewing, organised in collaboration with ZimGold and RM, brought together diplomats, government officials and members of the media.
Since its release earlier this year, Kantara: A Legend — Chapter 1 has become one of the biggest hits of 2025 for the Kannada film industry. Written and directed by Rishab Shetty (character name: Barme), who also stars in the film, Kantara was produced by Hombale Films under Vijay Kiragandur & Chaluve Gowda. The music and scoring were done by BAjaneesh Loknath.
It features principal characters Rishab Shetty, who plays the lead (character name: Barme), Jayaram in an important role, Gulshan Devaiah plays a key antagonist or royal character (Kulasekara) in the film and Rukmini Vasanth has a significant female lead role.