‘Kaantha’ Movie Review

‘Kaantha’ Movie Review

Actors: Dulquer Salmaan, Samudrakhani, Bhagyashri Borse, Rana Daggubati, Ravindra Vijay, Gayatri, Nilalgal Ravi, Bhagavathi, Aadukalam Naren and others

Music: Janu Chander

Background Music: Jakes Bejoy

Cinematography: Dani Sanchez Lopez

Producers: Dulquer Salmaan, Rana Daggubati, Prashanth Potluri, Jam Varghese

Written & Directed by: Selvamani Selvaraj

Despite being the son of a Malayalam superstar and hailing from a Mallu background, Dulquer Salman became a crowd puller in Tollywood, thanks to movies like Mahanati, Seetharamam, and Lucky Bhaskar. And now, Kaantha joins the gang, carrying some good buzz. Joining forces with Rana Daggubati, Dulquer produced this movie under debutant Selvamani Selvaraj’s direction. As it hits cinemas today, have a look at how it stacks up to the hype.

Story:

In the 1950s black and white film era, MK Mahadevan (Dulquer Salmaan) grows into a big star under the mentorship of director Ayya (Samuthirakani). Since he’s the one who pushed him into the limelight and made him a big star, Ayya feels that Mahadevan should be under his control. However, Mahadevan starts growing apart, rising big in his own way, and cracks develop due to this egoistic stuff between them. Due to this clash, a film named ‘Santha’ gets halted midway. Years later, producer Martin somehow manages to convince both of them to get this film back on track. A newcomer actress, Kumari (Bhagyasree), joins the project as a female lead. Despite being married, Mahadevan starts liking her slowly, while she’s pretty close to Ayya. Thus, friction erupts between Ayya and his former disciple, which leads to catastrophic things on the sets. As the film inches towards the finale, an unexpected incident changes the whole graph. What actually happened, and how did they managed to wrap the film or not, and what happens to Mahadevan’s feelings towards Kumari, will form the rest of the film.

Analysis:

In the world of some routine films, we get to see something unusual through Kaantha, as the film tells the story of how films were made back in the 1950s. With powerhouse performers like Dulquer, Samuthirakani, and others in place, there is no weak link in the casting. At the same time, all the visuals look perfectly handcrafted, with every scene getting powerfully staged. Dialogues in each scene carry heavy weight, and the storytelling doesn't follow the usual pattern. One can easily notice that the team delivered the best from all the departments involved in making the movie.

Despite all this humongous pull off, if the film can’t hold the attention of people for two and a half hours in a theatre, it’s worthless. Even the film looks like a master piece in terms of visuals, only if it hooks the audience, it will work, and this is where Kaantha stumbles. While it stands apart from the other films hitting cinemas these days, giving a different vibe, it might not be a crowd-pleaser.

The dialogue that Dulquer says in the film, “You just gave me an opportunity, but not a whole life”, is the one that the film hinges upon. Banking on this soulful one-line, the whole story is crafted. The director finds a struggling theatre artist and pulls him into cinemas, and expects him to be obedient and stay under his control forever. However, after finding success, the actor won’t bow down every minute. And that ego clash is the spine of the film. Debutant Selvamani has woven this to a stage where a new woman enters the middle of these rival men and causes further twists. For a debut director, setting up and crafting a vintage film is no joke. For the kind of strong actors, able technicians, and solid production support he has, the director manages terrific output. But a lack of an engaging story is something that makes the film slip out of attention.

While the movie starts off well, with the cracking episodes between Mahadevan and Ayya turn out to be fun, they turn repetitive as it progresses. The slow pace in the first half makes the film longer than it actually is, while the interval twist gives a kick for sure. Then comes the second half, which spirals into a murder mystery, and guess what, honestly, this tilt towards thriller elements doesn’t help. Though Rana Daggubati’s entry as a cop works out for a film, giving rise to expectations, the film falls into a routine trap from being something different. The investigation scenes dent the graph badly, while the climax is handled nicely. The twists, the emotions being it, and the vintage charm spearheaded by Dulquer raise the bar. But by the time the end credits start to roll, the audience might feel exhausted.

For people who love old-school filmmaking or just want to try something offbeat, Kaantha might click to the core. However, despite the artistic shine of the movie, it’s better to keep a tab on the expectations, or keep them quite low.

Performances:

There’s no need for a heap of debates on Dulquer Salman as he just nailed the role of Mahadevan yet again. It’s one of the flawless and career-best performances of the actor, we have to say. It wouldn’t be a surprise even if he bags some big awards for the same. He really sank into the skin of the character, as some scenes make you pause and think for a moment if he’s acting or literally living in that era.

Samuthirakani stands right next to him, without holding any horses. He slipped into the role naturally, making us forget that he’s an actor. At the same time, giving a turn around to the image she claimed from films like Mr Bachhan and Kingdom, Bhagyashree Borse shows something new as Kumari. For a role that’s needed to act only with eyes in some sequences, she did surprisingly well. No doubt, she evolved as an actress for real.

Rana Daggubati did his usual best as a cop, but then, in some scenes, he went overboard, trying to break through the frame. Other actors like Ravindra Vijay, Nilalgal Ravi, Gayatri, and others have stick to their roles and delivered what’s asked of them.

Technicians:

On the technical front, Kaantha rocked in every department as everyone has worked with a lot of care. The art and production design department should be appreciated for pulling off the 1950s vibe quite wonderfully. While nothing is out of place, Mahanati fame cinematographer Dani Sanchez Lopez shines again, with rich frames and perfect blocking. They are lovely to watch.

At the same time, Janu Chander’s songs are fine, doing the job. And it is Jakes Bejoy, who has lifted the film through his background score, which other some scenes would have fallen flat. The producers, too, didn’t cut any corners, as the production values prove it.

Newcomer writer-director Selvamani Selvaraj took a bit of a gamble for his debut film. Instead of playing a safe game, he jumped into a story that delves into the lives almost eighty years ago. To capture how filmmaking used to be back then, it's not an easy thing at all. He shows good command over the craft and extracted some strong performances. However, his narration wobbles as the screenplay doesn't engage throughout. Apart from the climax, the second half drags a bit and gets tiring at times. Though he flaunted his abilities as a filmmaker, somehow he failed to craft a crowd-pleasing film.

Verdict: Kaantha is artistic but dragging!

Rating- 2.5/5