A harrowing incident occurred during the filming of Rishab Shetty’s upcoming Kannada movie, Kantara 2. The crew’s boat capsized while shooting a scene, but thankfully, Shetty and 30 crew members were rescued without any injuries. This close call happened at the Mastikatte area of Shimoga district’s Mani reservoir, where the team was filming.
The police reported that the incident took place in a shallow area of the reservoir, which prevented a major disaster. However, cameras and other equipment were submerged in the water, and the extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Rangamancha artist Ramdas Poojary shared with PTI that filming in South Kannada can be risky due to the local spirits, which might not appreciate the commercialization of their stories. However, Poojary claimed that Shetty had performed a puja to seek the spirits’ permission to make the film.
A senior crew member, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that some team members were shaken by the incident, but since the boat was in shallow water, everyone managed to escape safely. The crew member believed that the spirits had somehow blessed them, preventing a more severe outcome.
This incident is not the first challenge the Kantara 2 team has faced. Just recently, mimickry artist Kalabhavan Niju passed away due to a heart attack while shooting for the film in Bengaluru. The production team has already lost three artists in separate incidents, making this boat capsizing incident another significant setback for the crew.