Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
2025 · Tamil · 2h 30m · History, Crime, Drama · CBFC U/A 13+
Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
Filmi Score
Very good
17 reviews
68
4 exceptional7 very good5 good1 mixed
What the critics say
Critics agree Kaantha's craft and performances, especially Dulquer Salmaan's, are exceptional, but nearly all flag a slower, more predictable second-half murder investigation that undercuts the film's ambitious first half.
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Summary
Kaantha (2025, Tamil) has a Filmi Score of 68 from 17 critic reviews, is rated 13+ by Filmi (CBFC: U/A 13+), and streams on Netflix in the US.
Set in the backdrop of a film set, in the 1950’s in post colonial Madras, the film is centred around the professional rivalry between a film-maker trying to make his seminal film and the top reigning actor who the director once introduced. The rivalry spirals around the leading actress, a debutante and as the relationship between the three.
Where to watchAvailability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.
Set in the backdrop of a film set, in the 1950’s in post colonial Madras, the film is centred around the professional rivalry between a film-maker trying to make his seminal film and the top reigning actor who the director once introduced. The rivalry spirals around the leading actress, a debutante and as the relationship between the three.
Where to watch
Availability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.
Pudipeddi calls Kaantha one of the year's best Tamil films, praising unbelievably strong performances, technical craft and a rewarding,… Read it there →
The critic finds Kaantha a technically dazzling, performance-driven period drama about art, ego and truth-telling that mostly triumphs despite… Watch it there →
YouTube, Malayalam · transcript read · 14 Nov 2025
Aswanth Kok calls Kaantha technically outstanding, with a strong score and one of Dulquer Salmaan's best performances, but feels the second-half… Watch it there →
The critic praises Kaantha's sharp first-half writing, layered characters, and standout performances, but flags a bumpier, more predictable second… Watch it there →
The first half is a visually ravishing, tension-filled drama of ego and craft set in 1950s studio culture, with Dulquer Salmaan delivering a… Watch it there →
Unni Narayanan · YouTube, Malayalam · transcript read · 14 Nov 2025
The reviewer calls Kaantha predictable and slow in patches, criticising cliched scenes and artificial VFX, but praises the performances and a… Watch it there →
The reviewer calls Kaantha's craft and first-half performances excellent, singling out the ego-clash and mirror sequences, but says the… Watch it there →
The critic praises the performances, especially Bhagyashree Borse's career-defining turn and Dulquer Salmaan's committed work, plus the visuals… Watch it there →
The critic finds Kaantha visually and thematically rich but ultimately uneven, with a murder-mystery thread that loses momentum in the second… Read it there →
Poolachokka praises Dulquer Salmaan's performance as extraordinary and calls the film technically brilliant, but says Rana felt off and admits… Watch it there →
How this number was made. We read every review and derive a 0–100 reading from each — including where the critic printed a number, which stays first on its row, because it’s theirs. The Filmi Score is the mean of 17 readings; 7 of those rows also carry the critic’s own rating, shown beside ours. Rubric v2.1, computed 26 Oct 2026. Any critic can ask us to remove a derived reading.
PublishedStated in videoDerived by FilmiNo score
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Kaantha: quick answers
Box office, where to watch and what critics said — from the same data as the page.
What is Kaantha's box office collection?
Kaantha has a box office collection of ₹35.44 Cr worldwide (gross), made up of ₹26.99 Cr India gross and ₹8.45 Cr overseas gross. Figures are Sacnilk's, as of 26 Aug 2026, day 35. Grosses are contested in India, and money never feeds the Filmi Score.
How much has Kaantha collected at the box office?
Kaantha has collected ₹35.44 Cr worldwide in 35 days, as of 26 Aug 2026, according to Sacnilk.
Where can I watch Kaantha?
Kaantha is streaming on OTT: Netflix (India, the US, the UK and Canada). Availability comes from JustWatch and is checked every Friday.
What did critics say about Kaantha?
Kaantha has a Filmi Score of 68 (Very good), the mean of 17 readings of critic reviews, one per review. Readings run from 48 (Gulte) to 90 (OnlyKollywood). Every review and how it was scored is listed below.
What readers say
The Audience Score appears once three readers’ reviews have been read under the rubric — built from what people write, never from the rating numbers.
