Premise: Set in the 1950s, Dulquer Salmaan plays one of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema and Samuthirakani is a veteran director who launched him. Creative differences lead them to part ways during the filming of a movie named Saantha. What happens after the two egoistic men agree to resume the shelved project forms the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction: A murder takes place in the very beginning without disclosing the killer and the victim, the casualty is revealed at the interval point and the murderer is unravelled at the end. It might seem like a template crime thriller, but the way the subject has been approached brings in a big difference. The core of the film is the Guru-Shishya conflict and the drama around it, the strong reason behind their rift is eventually stablished, yet the writer has penned many elements that highlight the layers of the story and the genre shifts organically happen. Every scene and character is either directly or indirectly linked with the base line, but there are pacing issues and a handful of re-establishment situations that struggle to take the story forward. The film does make us suffocate with the locality factor, majorly taking place inside a movie studio, in addition to the shooting portions in the first half, even the Police procedural in the latter happens at the same spot. These flaws thankfully do not affect the output much due to the peak performances and the depth in which the lead characters are portrayed. It is impossible to conclude Dulquer Salmaan and Samuthirakani as good and bad, the grey shade qualities in them constantly help to hold the narrative. Even the murder investigative progression in the second half is progresses in an unhurried manner, demanding for the audience’s patience, one might not feel the tension which is probably because of Rana Daggubati’s quirky way of handling the situation, yet the curiosity is definitely there and the flow is quite engaging. Debut director Selvamani Selvaraj has a nice taste for emotional values and he has given ample space for human drama. Plenty of clap-worthy dialogues, interestingly made memorable scenes placed frequently play a vital part in hiding the drawbacks to an extent. The finale is a rollercoaster ride, the twist is solid but the killer voluntarily confronting the purpose reduces the shock value. The repercussions transform into a poetic ending, the reason behind the murder is heartfelt and valid, but the idea of using an audio recording as the triggering tool lands on a silly note. The ending is terrific, the movie release sequence meaningfully sums a lot of stuff by justifying the aspirations of certain characters.

Performances: The tagline for Dulquer Salmaan’s character in the film is ‘Nadippu Chakravarthi’, his acting in every scene is sure to awestruck the viewers and is completely worthy of the title, yet again proves he is tailor-made for the period timeline, such nuanced body language and dialogue delivery, versatility in full display. Full-fledged screen time and an equally powerful role for Samuthirakani, shows great domination and melts contrastingly when the sentiments take the upper hand. Bhagyashri Borse is like the famous out-of-syllabus meme template, she puts on an unexpectedly mesmerizing performance, if it is Mahanati for Keerthi Suresh which proved her mettle, it is undoubtedly Kaantha for Bhagyashri and no looking back from now on. Rana Daggubati’s acting is a mixed bag, his wacky presence does tend to be funny in a few places, but it also deteriorates the essence of the serious subject and his mannerisms are irritable at times too. Many impressive supporting artists with fine roles, out of which Nagesh’s grandson Brijesh excels.

Technicalities:   Average songs and the album did not really add much value to the film. On the other hand, Jakes Bejoy’s background score elevates the intense drama to a great extent and supports the flow. Outstanding camera work by Mahanati fame Dani Sanchez-Lopez, some phenomenal angles that replicate as a storytelling tool, the beautiful looking 35MM frames truly take us back to the period setting. The cut patterns are perfect at places to narrate the film in the intended way, but it's definitely a film that feels long which could have been controlled at the edit suite, there is an evident scope to trim further. Middling green-mat visual effects in bringing the Chennai backdrop of the 1950s to screen, plus most of the film taking place in a single location are lowering the production values. The costume team and art department have faithfully done their job in taking us back in time.

Verdict:  Exceptional performances from Dulquer Salmaan and Samuthirakani, the solid dramatic events strengthen their conflict and Bhagyashri Borse happens to be the important piece in completing the puzzle. A neat watch barring the sluggish pace.

KAANTHA - A Slow Burn Drama with loads of Classy Poetic Touches!

Rating - 3/ 5.