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Days ahead of its worldwide release, the highly anticipated period drama thriller Kaantha, helmed by Selvamani Selvaraj and starring Dulquer Salmaan in the lead role, has found itself caught in the midst of controversy after the grandson of veteran Tamil actor MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar approached a court in Chennai against the film. Claiming that it has portrayed Bhagavathar in a defamatory manner, his kin has demanded a stay on the release of Kaantha. The court has issued notices to the movie’s producers, including Dulquer, seeking an explanation on the matter.
Widely regarded as the “first superstar of Tamil cinema,” Bhagavathar once set a nearly unbreakable record when his film Haridas (1944) ran for a whopping 114 weeks (about 784 days) in a theatre. Haridas ranked as the longest-running Tamil film for five decades until it was eventually dethroned by “Superstar” Rajinikanth’s Chandramukhi (2005). Bhagavathar’s superstardom took a steep decline after he was named an accused in the murder of CN Lakshmikanthan, a “notorious yellow journalist.”
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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.
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.
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.
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