Mumbai, Dec 20 : Playing an actor from the 1950s, Dulquer Salmaan is required to lean into exaggerated, theatrical acting while also remaining conscious of the camera within a film within a film setup. In Kantha, this layered performance becomes its biggest undoing.
Dulquer has never been known for great range, and managing two performance registers in the same film proves well beyond his comfort zone. As T.K. Mahadevan, a rising star actor who treats his mentor filmmaker Ayya (Samuthirakani) with arrogant disregard, Dulquer fails to convincingly communicate either emotional complexity or historical performance style. The result is a confused portrayal neither a believable 1950s screen idol nor a credible modern actor interpreting one.
The film’s structure inevitably invites comparison with classics like The French Lieutenant’s Woman, where Meryl Streep masterfully navigated dual realities. Kantha falters badly in comparison. Mahadevan’s excessive emoting, particularly in a key death scene, feels less like a deliberate nod to period acting and more like a misunderstanding of it.
Egos dominate the film’s narrative space. Mahadevan attempts to wrest creative control from his mentor, while caught between these two clashing male forces is the heroine Kumari, played by Bhagyashree Borse. Styled as a 1950s heartthrob, her performance like the film itself leans heavily on surface glamour. It is fashion without passion.
There is no shortage of ambition here. Director Selvamani Selvaraj confidently frames the intertwined lives of the actor, the director, and the heroine, all trapped in mirrored illusions of cinema. Yet despite the thematic promise, the characters remain curiously unengaging. Kantha suffers from a crippling sense of self-importance, with both the film and its leading man constantly posing even when the camera, literal or metaphorical, isn’t rolling.
Adding to the imbalance is Samuthirakani, whose restrained and grounded performance only highlights Dulquer’s limitations. The disparity in acting calibre feels less like dramatic tension and more like a casting mismatch.
The film’s midpoint marks a sharp decline. While the first half offers occasional moments of visual and emotional intuition, the second half devolves into an ill-conceived murder mystery. The narrative shift raises more questions than intrigue, including an unexplained religious conversion subplot that adds little coherence.
Rana Daggubati’s investigator, introduced late in the film, appears more enamoured with his own swagger than the mystery at hand, further distancing the viewer. By the time Kantha reaches its final twist, emotional investment has all but evaporated.
Stilted rather than sumptuous, brocade instead of silk, Kantha is a film weighed down by its own ambitions. It aims high but lands with little impact an exercise in overreach where aspiration far exceeds execution.
The writer is a veteran film journalist and columnist. Views expressed are personal.