Kaantha Critic Review: Dulquer Salmaan Delivers A National Award Worthy Performance; 2nd Half Of Film Is....

Kaantha Critics Review: The year 2025 has been quite fruitful for Dulquer Salmaan and rightfully so. After the phenomenal success of his production Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, he is now making headlines for his first release of 2025. We are talking about Kaantha which is a period drama thriller and has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Directed by Selvamani Selvaraj, Kaantha also features Samuthirakani, Bhagyashri Borse and Rana Daggubati in the lead.

To note, Kaantha is reportedly based on the life of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar however, the makers have termed it as a work of fiction. Interestingly, Kaantha is jointly produced by Rana Daggubati and Dulquer Salmaan under their Spirit Media and Wayfarer Films banners respectively. Set in the 1950s, in Madras, Kaantha revolves around a renowned Tamil director Ayya and his complex relationship with T. K. Mahadevan, an actor whose career Ayya significantly shaped and promoted. As Kaantha has managed to create a massive buzz in the town, here's the critics review of the movie

Kaantha Critic Review

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, film critic Ramesh Bala gave Kaantha a rating of 4.5 stars and wrote, "1st Half Excellent Drama.. 2nd Half Excellent Investigative Thriller and Drama.. Set in 1950's Madras Movie Industry.. @dulQuer may win a National Award for acting.. #BhagyashriBorse is terrific.. thondankani is fantastic. @RanaDaggubati is excellent. Authentic recreation of the past.. Technically Superior.. Director #SelvamaniSelvaraj is a Master story-teller! Don't Miss it!".

On the other hand, Sreedhar Pillair called Kaantha 'brilliant' and tweeted, "A captivating, drama-driven narrative from director Selvamani Selvaraj powered by ego, ambition & betrayal that play out along with powerful performances from its lead actors". He further added, "First half is the deadly ego clash between a veteran director Ayya (Samuthirakani) taking on the superstar KT Mahadevan (DQ) 'Nadippin Chakravarthy' whom he discovered & mentored. Second half is pure Hitchcockian style murder mystery- who pulled the trigger? The way director has seamlessly blended both the parts together is what keeps you hooked till the end. What a solid performance by Dulquer Salmaan, his best till date, you can see the emotions of the character he plays in the breakdown 'mirror scene'. And Samuthirakani as the ego driven maniac is perfect foil to DQ.

Meanwhile, Dulquer recently shared his biggest fear while in conversation with Gulte and stated, "My character's title is Naditu Chakravarthy. I don't believe I am a great actor. There is always a percentage of the audience who keep telling me that I can't act. There will be some criticism I keep reading. So in my head, am I not good? This fear is there".