India, Oct. 2 -- Chapter 1 can feel overwhelming. So much unfolds so quickly that piecing the story together is nearly impossible until the second half. The sensory overload leaves you scrambling to connect the dots. But does that mean you tune out or walk away? Absolutely not.

What Rishab Shetty achieves here as both writer and director is nothing short of striking. The film once again explores the primal relationship between man and nature. At its core lies a feud carried forward by the tyrant Kulashekara (Gulshan Devaiah) and his scheming father Rajashekara (Jayaram), who have long harbored resentment toward Kantara ever since Rajashekara's father was slain by the spirit that guards the forests of pre-colonial Karnataka.

From there, ...