Netflix’s latest outing, Kaantha, in Tamil and several other languages, survives largely because of an actor so compellingly good as Dulquer Salmaan, son of Malayalam actor Mammootty. The son certainly outshines the father. Dulquer has managed to weave into his performances style and substance, combining them into a unique whole.
Kaantha is a period piece, written and directed by Selvamani Selvaraj – lauded for works such as his debut film Pariyerum Perumal (2018) and Bison Kaalamaadan (2025). But I feel his latest, Kaantha, walks away with the cake!
The movie – also starring Rana Daggubati – pans like an ode to love, opening in the Madras of the 1940s and travelling through the 1950s. A film within a film (although I have seen much better stuff in this genre, Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night is one brilliant example), Kaantha is a psychological whodunnit – captured with finesse by cinematographer Dani Sanchez and costume designer Archana Rao.
Dulquer plays a superstar – replete with a swagger and style that borders on arrogance. He forgets his rags days, even his mentor, Ayya (Samuthirakani), and obviously their relationship sours to an extent that they cannot face each other. However, compelled by the situation, they have to work together with the director, passing instructions to his star via his assistant. The owner of the studio, where the movie is being shot, Martin (Ravindra Vijay), has to recover his investment. So, the director and the actor have to work – and work together, he says.
Selvamani creates the tension step by step, and we see how stardom dictates the script. But Ayya is not to be cowed down, and he rubbishes every change suggested by Mahadevan. At one point, the two nearly come to blows. Ayya is not just angry, but also sad, because he picked Mahadevan from the streets and pushed him to the skies.
Dulquer carries shades of grey with consummate ease, and Samuthirakani scores as well as a man who never says die. He is extremely impressive here. And the visuals shifting between colour and black-and-white make it easier for us to differentiate between today and yesterday.
A must watch.
(The writer is an author and movie critic. Views are personal)