Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Bhagyashrii Borse, Rana Daggubati, Samuthirakani, Nizhalgal Ravi, Ravindra Vijay

Crew: 

Music by Jhanu Chanthar, Jakes Bejoy
Cinematography by Dani Sanchez-Lopez
Edited by Llewellyn Anthony Gonsalvez
Written by Tamizh Prabha, Selvamani Selvaraj
Directed by Selvamani Selvaraj
Produced by Rana Daggubati, Dulquer Salmaan, Prashanth Potluri, Jom Varghese

Dulquer Salmaan has become the poster boy of period dramas and in Telugu, he did every film that narrates a story in the past. Mahanati, Sita Ramam, Lucky Baskhar all have gone to the bygone era and Kaantha is a film within a film that too from 1950's. Rana Daggubati has produced the film and he even been part of it. Bhagyashri Borse is playing the leading lady. Let's dive into the details about the film. 

Plot: 

TK Mahadevan (Dulquer Salmaan) is one of the biggest stars of Cinema and he is the discovery of a highly talented and respected director, Ayya (Samuthirakani). Ayya wants to direct a film, Shantha, to honor his mother and it is Mahadevan, who gives the idea after their first film. But they both are not on talking terms and have ego issues. Still, Mahadevan comes forward to rejuvenate the film but on his own terms. 

He changes the movie title to Kaantha but the leading lady Kumari (Bhagyashri Borse) promises to Ayya that she would listen to only his word. Mesmerised by her talent and beauty, Mahadevan doesn't object to her yet he keeps showcasing his star power on sets. Slowly, Kumari and Mahadevan grow closer and fall in love. But Mahadevan is already married and that too, to a very famous media baron. So, where does the ego battle and fame lead the story forward? What does Pheonix (Rana Daggubati) do to find out the truth behind everything? Watch the movie to know more. 
 

Analysis :

Dulquer Salmaan deserves every award in the book for his stunning performance. He is able to bring the yesteryear actor character to life with ease and deliver the melodrama on point. He is the cog that holds the script together with his genuine and honest performance. The mirror scene in the first hour and climax juxtaposed perfectly and he nailed both with variations. 

Rana Daggubati is cool and good in his performance. Bhagyashri Borse got a very heavy role and she needed to look innocent. While she tried her best the performance did not really stand out as much as the script needed. Still, she did look the part and her screen presence had been stunning. Samuthirakani looked too serious and did not really carry the layered character as it came across monotonous. 

Selvamani Selvaraj's ambition is applaudable has he is able to bring authenticity to the proceedings from the first frame. But the writing and execution lacked any sort of novelty as they looked like derived from Mahanati and Iddaru without the same level of brilliance. The sequences looked repetitive rather than engaging after a point as narrative did not really hold on to one sort of rhythm. 

While it starts as a battle of egos, it transforms into romance, then into a film within a film and then an investigation. None of the elements really sustain the interest as much as the performances do. While Dulquer aces out some of the other actors did seem a little bit uneven. Technically, the portions of film within a film are brilliant and even production values are high quality. 

Sound department worked hard to bring the old world atmosphere believable and frames are richly lit to feel like a painting. Writing needed to be much better for this drama to really flourish as the narrative seems to be going in rounds unable to find the unifying cog and tone. Kaantha is film for performances and each actor delivers at least one brilliant scene while Dulquer just smacks it out of the park. 

TeluguOne Perspective :

Performances and technical values enhance a middling drama. 

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