Highlights
- A Chennai court petition seeks to halt Kaantha’s release, alleging it defames actor-singer Thyagaraja Bhagavathar.
- Petitioner claims the film portrays the Carnatic icon as morally corrupt and blind in his final years.
- The makers maintain the film is entirely fictional and unrelated to any real-life figure.
Grandson of M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar moves court
Dulquer Salmaan’s upcoming period drama Kaantha has been hit with a legal challenge just ahead of its theatrical release on November 14.
B Thiagarajan, grandson of celebrated Tamil actor and Carnatic musician M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, has filed a petition in a Chennai court alleging that the film depicts his grandfather in a defamatory light.
According to LiveLaw, the plea claims that Kaantha portrays Bhagavathar, widely known as MKT, as “a man of loose morals” who spent his later years blind, destitute, and disgraced. Thiagarajan argues these depictions are false and damaging to the late musician’s legacy.
Family says portrayal is inaccurate and disrespectful
In his petition, Thiagarajan asserts that Bhagavathar, though once embroiled in a criminal case, was acquitted and lived the rest of his life with dignity and financial stability until his death in 1959.
He adds that while his grandfather’s eyesight had weakened, he was never blind, and that he remained a devout, charitable, and teetotal individual held in deep respect across Tamil Nadu.
The plea also contends that filmmakers are legally obliged to obtain permission from the legal heirs of any public figure whose life is portrayed onscreen, an approval the Kaantha team allegedly did not seek.
Thiagarajan argues that even with fictionalized names, if audiences can identify the real person being referenced, it still constitutes defamation. The petition seeks a permanent injunction on the film’s release, distribution, and streaming.
- YouTube YouTube/ Adithya Music Tamil
Makers insist Kaantha is fictional
The producers have not yet issued a formal response to the court petition. However, in earlier interviews and promotional events, the Kaantha team, including Dulquer Salmaan and co-producer Rana Daggubati, emphasized that the film is “entirely fictional.”
Rana, during a Q&A session on X, dismissed the allegations as “pretty baseless,” reiterating that Kaantha has “no real reference at all.”
About Kaantha
Directed by Selvamani Selvaraj, Kaantha stars Dulquer Salmaan, Samuthirakani, Bhagyashri Borse, and Rana Daggubati. The film is jointly produced by Dulquer and Rana under their respective banners.
This is not Dulquer’s first pre-release legal challenge. His 2022 film Kurup, inspired by fugitive Sukumara Kurup, also faced court hurdles before becoming a commercial success.
Dulquer Salmaan says he was “genuinely greedy” to play his role in Kaantha Instagram/dqsalmaan 
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