Rishab Shetty's Kantara is being lauded all across the globe! From box office success to making it onto the Academy Awards contention list, the film continues to make waves months after its release. Just days after the Kantara team announced that the movie had made it to the Oscars 2023, veteran actor Kamal Hassan sent an appreciation letter to the movie's main man Rishab Shetty.

Rishab Shetty shared a glimpse of Kamal Hassan's appreciation letter and wrote in the caption, "It means a lot to receive such a lovely message from the legend of Indian cinema. Too overwhelmed and awestruck to see this surprise gift from Kamal sir. Thanks a ton for this precious gift sir..."

Haasan wrote, “A film like Kantara stays in your mind and blossoms. I am a godless man, yet I understand the need for one in most. I truly believe compassion is lacking in gods depicted in most of our mythology. We of the Dravidian stock are a matriarchal society. That is seen in the last scene of your film, where the god behaves like a mother, rather than the testosterone father that he started off as."

Haasan further referred to Rishab Shetty’s film as a classic and said, “I know you could not have seen a film called Nirmalyam by MT Vasudevan Nair. Your film has shades of that classic. Your cinematic DNA has many forefathers you may not know of, but remember that the cinematic language you speak came from them.”

Kantara, directed by and starring Rishab Shetty, is about a tribal village, which is guarded by a deity named Panjurli. The story is about how the villagers and the land are protected by the deity for generations. The climax and the subtext of the film have received acclaim from people across the country.

It means a lot to receive such a lovely message from Legend of Indian Cinema. Too overwhelmed and awestruck to see this surprise gift from Kamal sir.🙏
Thanks a ton for this precious gift sir ❤️ @ikamalhaasan ❤️ @KantaraFilm @hombalefilms #Kantara #KamalHaasan pic.twitter.com/D21oxUroK5

— Rishab Shetty (@shetty_rishab) January 13, 2023