A period drama, Kaantha has generated curiosity among audiences since its teaser was released. Headlined by Dulquer Salmaan and Samuthirakani who are in loggerheads over ego clashes with their film, Kaantha is set in the 1950s with the story being reportedly inspired by rise and the fall of actor MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, regarded as the first superstar of Tamil cinema.
With Kaantha reportedly in the making since 2019, the film has had its own sets of challenges. During the movie's trailer launch event, Dulquer Salmaan said that he has attended innumerable script meetings for the first time for Kaantha. "We have been working on this for the last four to five years. I have never attended these many script meetings in my life. In this time, I could have committed to 8-10 films. Every Kaantha meeting would last minimum five hours. We might have attended over ten to fifteen meetings like that. So, you do the math. We have heard over 50 hours for the story alone," he revealed.
At one point, Dulquer had his apprehensions of completing the film. "I had fought with Rana (Daggubati) and everyone over this. This film doesn't have a typical story. It has its own destiny which it will decide for itself. The film will decide whom it wants in its cast and when it wants to be released. I badly wanted to act in this film, but even I was scared after two years if I'd be replaced. I was ready to wait for him to finish the script because we had invested a lot of love and time for this project," he added.
Despite the concerns, Dulquer did not lose hope on Kaantha and called it a "special film" and a "one-in-a-lifetime opportunity". "We wanted to do justice to the film and its story. I love Tamil. In school, it was my third language. Even now, when I speak, directors in Malayalam say that my Tamil is better when I am speaking than Malayalam. This language is close to my heart. Cinema industry began here before moving to other states. We have celebrated Studio culture in this film. We have made Kaantha only in Tamil and Telugu as studio culture is familiar here," he said.
Apart from Dulquer Salmaan and Samuthirakani, Kaantha also features Bhagyashri Borse and Rana Daggubati in key roles. The film is jointly produced by Rana Daggubati and Dulquer Salmaan under their Spirit Media and Wayfarer Films banners respectively.
Kaantha marks a comeback into Tamil cinema for Dulquer after 2022's Hey Sinamika. The film's technical team includes cinematographer Dani Sanchez Lopez, editor Llewellyn Anthony Gonsalvez, composer Jhanu Chanthar, and art director Ramalingam. Thamizh Prabha serves as its additional dialogue writer and story consultant, as well as additional screenwriter along with Sri Harsha Rameshwaram.