Kantara Chapter 1 beats Coolie and Lokah to win Best South film | India TV poll result out

The prequel to the hit 2022 film, Kantara, titled Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, hit the silver screens on October 2, 2025, on the occasion of Dusshera. Rishab Shetty’s action thriller opened strong by collecting Rs 61.85 crore on its first day and later went on to become one of the blockbusters movies of 2025. 

India TV hosted a poll on Wednesday, December 24, asking readers to vote for the Best South film of 2025, and the audience has now made their pick.

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 is the audience’s choice for Best South film

Rishab Shetty’s directorial Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 surpassed films like Rajinikanth‘s Coolie, Kalyani Priyadarshan’s Lokah Chapter One: Chandra, Mohanlal films L2: Empuraan and Thudarum to secure the highest number of votes for Best South Film. The movie’s folklore theme, gripping storyline, and stellar performances by the cast contributed to its win. Check out India TV’s poll results below:

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1: Story

The film is set against the backdrop of pre-colonial coastal Karnataka and highlights the Kadamba dynasty. A prequel to the 2022 film Kantara, it explores the origins of the traditions and ancestral conflicts introduced in the first instalment. The film has an impressive IMDb rating of 8.2 and can be streamed on the Prime Video platform in multiple languages, including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. 

Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1: Cast

It is worth noting that, like the 2022 film Rishab Shetty has directed and acted in this film. He played the dual role of Berme and Mayakara. Apart from him, the film features Rukmini Vasanth as princess Kanakavathi, Jayaram as king Rajashekara, Gulshan Devaiah as king Kulashekara, Achyuth Kumar as Dalal, an arab trader and others in key roles. 

Also Read: Highest-grossing Indian movies of 2025: Dhurandhar to Kantara Chapter 1 dominate box office