Highlights:
- Dulquer admits he was “greedy” for his Kaantha role.
- Says the project slipped away “so many times” before it began.
- Rana Daggubati recalls six-hour meetings that went nowhere.
- Film finally took off after years of talks and false starts.
- Both actors say the wait made the story stronger.
After endless rounds of talks and near starts, Kaantha, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Rana Daggubati is finally ready. Dulquer said he once feared he’d lose the Kaantha role after years of waiting. The actor, who’s been juggling production and acting work this year, called it one of the few parts he was “genuinely greedy” to play.
Dulquer Salmaan says he was “genuinely greedy” to play his role in Kaantha Instagram/dqsalmaan
Why Dulquer Salmaan almost lost Kaantha
The film took years to get off the ground. Dulquer said they’d keep planning shoots “every summer” but something always came up. “We would come so close every time,” he said. “Then someone would get busy, and it would slip away again.”
He admitted that patience nearly cost him the job. “I shouldn’t have been so relaxed about it,” he said. “I worried they might go to someone else.”
How Rana Daggubati pushed to finally make it happen
Rana laughed about how long the talks went on. “You can’t just keep discussing,” he said. “At some point, you’ve got to make the film. Those six-hour meetings have to turn into something.”
It took a while for everyone to find the right window. Once that happened, things finally started rolling. “The story itself demanded time, it was so new and different that we couldn’t rush it” he added.
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What drew Dulquer to the story
Dulquer said he was instantly drawn to the world of Kaantha. “At first, I thought it might feel familiar, it’s set in the world of cinema, even from the same period,” he said. “But once I understood what they were doing, I realised it was something original.”
He liked the emotional intensity of the script. “We all love drama,” he said. “It gives you so much to explore, to lose yourself, to just be one with the character.”
What’s next for Dulquer and Rana
It’s been a busy year for both. Dulquer recently produced and starred in Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra under his Wayfarer Films banner. Rana returned to Netflix with Rana Naidu Season 2 and is now producing Ram Pothineni’s upcoming film, reuniting with his Baahubali team.
Instagram/ dhsgov
