India, Nov. 14 -- Selvamani Selvaraj's retro-style film Kaantha goes creatively meta in the most satisfying manner while unveiling the making of a film within a film. In fact, at one point, you wonder if filmmaker Ayya (Samuthirakani) is about to get the righteous ending he always dreamt of with TK Mahadevan (Dulquer Salmaan). Unfortunately, Kaantha doesn't seem to reach its full potential, much like some of the characters in the film.

It's 1950s Madras. Ayya (Samuthirakani) is summoned by the head honcho of Modern Studios, Marin (Ravindra Vijay), to revive his dead horror film, Saantha. The filmmaker is pleased as he has the perfect muse to play the titular character, based on his mother, Kumari (Bhagyashri Borse). The only catch? He wi...