As the team of Dulquer Salmaan’s ‘Kantha’ gears up to release in theaters on November 14, the film is stuck in a legal hitch. The grandson of legendary actor and musician Tyagaraja Bhagavathar has filed a case in a Chennai court seeking to stop the release of the film.

According to a report by live lawPetitioner, B. Tyagarajan alleged that ‘Kantha’ portrayed his grandfather, the iconic actor and Carnatic musician Tyagaraja Bhagavathar, as a “man of loose morals” who lived in poverty and blindness until the end of his life – a portrayal which he described as false and insulting.

Thiagarajan argued that the late Bhagavathar, popularly known as MKT, was an iconic figure in Tamil cinema and Carnatic music, known for his devotion, simplicity and generosity. The petition further stated that, despite being wrongly implicated in a criminal case, Bhagwatar led a respectable life until his death in 1959.

Thiagarajan argued that filmmakers are legally required to obtain permission from the surviving legal heirs of public figures before portraying them on screen – a step he claims the makers of ‘Kantha’ failed to take. Alleging that the film’s portrayal is derogatory and harmful to his grandfather’s legacy, he sought a permanent injunction on its release, distribution or digital streaming.

Although the makers are yet to release an official statement on the controversy, actor Dulquer Salmaan has previously clarified in an interview that ‘Kantha’ is a fictional story.

Here is the trailer:

Meanwhile, the period drama directed by Selvamani Selvaraj and co-produced by Rana Daggubati and Dulquer Salmaan stars Samuthirakani and Bhagyashree Borse in the lead roles.