Pushpa star Allu Arjun heaped praise on actor-director Rishab Shetty’s latest release Kantara: Chapter 1 on Friday, calling the folk drama a ‘mind-blowing film’.

“Watched #Kantara last night. Wow, what a mind-blowing film. I was in a trance watching it,” wrote Allu on X.

Lauding Shetty, who also wrote and directed the film, Allu wrote, “Kudos to shetty_rishab. garu for a one-man show as writer, director, and actor. He excelled in every craft.”

The Pushpa actor went on to praise the cast of Kantara: Chapter 1, including Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah.

“Aesthetic performances by @rukminitweets garu, #Jayaram garu, @gulshandevaiah garu, and others,” he wrote.

Commending the film’s crew, Allu said, “Brilliant work by the technicians…especially the music by @AJANEESHB garu, cinematography by #AravindSKashyap garu, art direction by @DharaniGange91garu, and stunts by #ArjunRaj garu. Big congratulations to producer @VKiragandur garu and the entire @hombalefilms team. Honestly, words fall short to describe the experience.”

Produced by Hombale Films, Kantara: Chapter 1 is a prequel to the 2022 National Award-winning film Kantara, also written and fronted by Shetty.

Shetty reprises his role as the protagonist in Kantara: Chapter 1. The film features Shetty as a tribal leader, Berme, who protects his community as well as the other subjects of the kingdom from the tyranny of their rulers.

Shetty won the National Film Award for Best Actor last year for his performance in Kantara. Kantara: Chapter 2 is already in the works.

According to industry data-tracking platform Sacnilk, Kantara: Chapter 1 earned Rs 564.10 crore nett in India. The film was released on October 2.