Filmmaker Karan Johar said that the cost-to-profit of Rishab Shetty-starrer 'Kantara' has been "massive". He added, "I would only compare Kantara's cost-to-profit with a film that [was] released in the 1970s called 'Jai Santoshi Maa', which actually had done business close to that of Sholay's!" He stated no one, including the Kannada film industry, saw 'Kantara' being a big success.