Dulquer Salmaan’s Kaantha in court after MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar’s grandson seeks stay on release over ‘defamatory’ portrayal of Tamil cinema’s first superstar

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According to Live Law, Bhagavathar’s grandson B Thiagarajan has claimed that Kaantha falsely depicts the yesteryear superstar as a person who lived with loose morals, became destitute towards the end of his life, and died in penury. He also maintained that, contrary to what is being portrayed in the movie, his grandfather was a humble, devout, and kind-hearted man, who carried out a lot of charity, and had never smoked or consumed liquor in his life.

Kaantha is set to release worldwide on November 14.

Further alleging that the film was made without seeking permission from Bhagavathar’s family members, Thiagarajan has claimed that even though the characters’ names have been changed, audiences can easily recognise the individuals portrayed on screen. However, the film’s makers had earlier clarified that Kaantha is not a biopic of Bhagavathar.

Watch Kaantha trailer here:

In the movie, set against the backdrop of Madras in the 1950s, Dulquer Salmaan plays the role of an actor named TK Mahadevan, known by the sobriquet “Nadippu Chakravarthi” (Emperor of Acting). Kaantha also features Samuthirakani, Bhagyashri Borse, Rana Daggubati, Ravindra Vijay, Bagavathi Perumal, and Nizhalgal Ravi in key roles. While Samuthirakani plays a film director named Ayya, Rana takes on the role of a police officer, and Bhagyashri essays the female lead, named Kumari. According to the movie’s promotional materials, Kaantha revolves around ego, revenge, and emotional turmoil between the characters played by Dulquer and Samuthirakani.

Maintaining that the makers of Kaantha have based the film on an unfounded account of Bhagavathar’s life, the plaintiff has requested a permanent injunction to prevent the movie from being released, screened, distributed, published, streamed, or shown in any form. The matter has been posted for further hearing on November 18. Kaantha is set to release worldwide on Friday, November 14.