Kaala

Kaala is a movie where I don't agree with the core philosophy of communism or glorifying a monster like Raavan but I still rate this movie as high because you don't have to agree with the director's viewpoint to appreciate a well made movie. The cast is brilliantly picked and given meaty roles, no mannequins here for item song and fashion parades, dignified ladies with a mind of their own.Rajinikanth and Nana Patekar are like wine who seem get better with age.The screen presence Rajinikanth has is unmatched by any of the heroes North or South. If you are expecting a mass entertainment movie please avoid this and if you are expecting Thalaivar to do punch dialogues/ impossible stunts, please avoid it. But if you are looking for a well made, well-acted movie with a good storyline this is really a watch.Music is a very big letdown though, "Neruppu da" seems to be a fluke by the music director.

The film is all about the fight for land and Pa Ranjith wastes no time and establishes that clearly with the very first scene. A powerful politician wants to clear a slum in the name of a scheme to make Mumbai a better place, but he has an ulterior motive. We know who the politician (Nana Patekar) is and we know who is not going approve of this plan (Rajinikanth). All these are pretty clear from the teasers. But how and what happens, in the end, is all that we need to know. Coming to director Pa Ranjith, he is known for making films that talk about oppressed people. Kaala is no different and even the making is in typical Pa Ranjith style. It moves at a leisurely pace. And the second half is largely about protests. If you have followed the recent political developments in Tamil Nadu, you will relate to the film more. Having said that, it is better you don't mix up the film with Rajinikanth's recent speech which might turn you off. Kaala is more emotional, it has a relationship based story intertwined with social issues. Pa Ranjith has played to the gallery to make all sections of the audience enjoy the movie. Rajinikanth and Eswari's romance portion is refreshing and suits Rajini's current image. Huma Qureshi's love track looked a little stretched. But one feels that it is done to establish the fact that Kaala would not even mind going against the love of his life. hough sparse in number, the mass elements that we expect in a Rajinikanth film keeps the core fans buzzing. The screenplay is much tighter this time in spite of sentiment scenes taking the centre stage. Kaala is an archetypal Pa Ranjith film with adequate Superstar mass moments. Rajinikanth is back with full vigour and energy, which is a major boost. His evergreen screen presence is exemplary and unmatchable no matter how old he gets. Rajini's costumes and other accessories like coolers and umbrella have become style statements among the younger lot already. Fans who are longing to watch Rajini in a complete mass avatar are will be pleased. There are plenty of slow-motion shots, crowd-pleasing mass scenes and most importantly the style of Superstar has been put to good use with the support of some terrific background score by Santhosh Narayanan. We can sense that Pa Ranjith has worked on things that he was criticized for in Kabali. However, the second half deals with protests and is majorly dialogue-oriented, and it may seem less engaging at some points. There are 4 fight scenes in Kaala, all choreographed well by Dhilip Subbarayan. Rajini sits back and watches his son smashing the baddies in the first two fight scenes and when you expect him to do the same again for the third time, you get to see the action side of Kaala which will be an ultimate treat to Rajini fans. Santhosh Narayanan adds a lot of strength through his BGM score. If you hear the theatre roar for some of the strong scenes, the major part of the credit should go to him. The songs are purely situational, so if you weren't impressed with the album earlier, you might very well fall in love with a few of the tracks after watching the movie. Among the other performers, Nana Patekar is a new addition to the list of powerful, deadly and memorable villains of Rajinikanth films. A well etched out character which gets enhanced with an irreproachable performance. All the supporting actors, from Samuthirakani, Dileepan, Manikandan and others have done their part well. Not just Rajinikanth's role, Kaala has 4 to 5 indelible characters that will stay close to your heart.

Kaala, while an improvement over Kabali, doesn't really know how to project Rajinikanth in the Thalapathi like avatar where we last saw a perfect blend of mass and class.

Here, Ranjith follows Nayagan's episode of the Sait-ji trying to tear down the slums (this case, Dharavi) for land opportunities, and makes it the crux of the film. While it sounds promising on paper, the total duration of 2.46 hours doesnt not take this idea and revolutionize the fights, struggles and politics behind it until you're done sitting through the Kaala-Zareena-Selvi love triangle shoehorned in for effect for about half an hour (though honestly, Eswari Rao as Selvi is damn good, you wonder why Huma Querishi's role exists in the first place.)

After sitting through a pointless love triangle, we see Nana Patekar (in a more muted role despite flashes of his brilliance) posing as a Modi/BjP like figure trying to (again) do what the Sait-ji did in Nayagan. The rest of the film shuffles between Kaala-isms, Ranjith-symbolisms & the eleventh hour ladais which should have been built up somewhat in the first place.

I really don't know how hard it is to write a good Rajnikanth film. I expected at least a Thalapathi like sensibility while opting for a Madras like execution. Instead we are left confused. People who oppose BjP sentiments will adore this film, people who are Superstar fans will be let down. People who are Ranjith fans will be left satisfied. Things are shoehorned in and rushed (barring the Umbrella goondagiri fight) till that Holi-like climax.

It almost feels like after Kabali bombed, Dhanush wanted a do-over and brought the two together, instead, Dhanush offered script compromises (love triangle, umberla fight, usual punch scenes, etc.) which feels like an executive meddled film overall (please see VIP-2 for reference.) And why in this day and age, are we dubbing over Non-Tamil villians in Tamil?

See it on stream if anything else.

The king is back. everything was positive except one may feel rajinikanth punch was needed more in a few scenes

I will start off by stating this. I have tried my best to reveal any kind of spoilers and I may have to leave out parts due to this. Also, I don't consider myself to be an established film critique. The following is just my personal opinions and observations as a Tamil movie enthusiast and also as someone who follows the Kollywood undercurrents closely.

Kaala is a Pa.Ranjith's movie more than a Superstar Rajinikanth's movie.

First off, thanks to Ranjith for not casting any of his usual supporting actors like Kalaiarasan, Riythvika or Attakathi dinesh. Despite their stellar on-screen performances, their presence in Kabaali's crew left a cliqueish feel(in real-life) among the movie watchers and had a negative effect to be honest. It is so fresh to see new faces(atleast new to Ranjith's cast) in the movie. The cast couldn't have been better for this story.

Now coming to the story and screenplay, the movie, as usual, has strong undertones of the director's political idealogies, infact very similar to madras and Kabaali. The downtrodden versus the establishment/power-structure. I will say that the screenplay is very engaging until the last 20 minutes. Rajnikanth's casting can be classified as 'never on screen before'. Unlike most Rajni's movies, screentime is shared among supporting actors(kinda like Madras if I may say so) and all the supporting actors have played their roles to perfection. Special mention to Easwari Rao, Dileepan(Vathikutchi fame!), Samuthirakani and Nana Patekhar. The movie keeps the audience absorbed for the most part. Most of the emotion is conveyed and gets through to the audience(thanks to Santosh Narayan's magical music). Without giving away any spoilers, I was able to understand whatever the director was trying to say until the last 20-30 minutes after which it kind of gets into a grey area. I felt there were unnecessary analogies drawn to Mahabaratham and Ramayanam and to be honest we got restless towards the end. Too much hype and build-up to nothing but oblivion at the end.Imagine waiting for Deepavali all year long then lighting a flower pot on Deepavali and running back to safety to enjoy the fireworks only to find that this particular one is a no-show. That's exactly how I felt towards the end of the movie.

Rajini's acting has been amazing and his portrayal of the character 'Kaala' is impeccable. The other notable aspect of the story is the full-blown, direct and vehement attack on the country's PM and his party. There are no stones left unturned and there is even a dig at an elected representative named H.Jara(!). I'm waiting for the possible political debate this movie is going to stir-up especially due to the current scenario and recent incidents in TN.

The actors have done their part perfectly and put in a one hundred percent. One can't ask for a better music and BGM. Ranjith has definitely amped up his screenplay game compared to Kabaali. The screenplay is beautifully woven for most parts and except for the last few minutes the movie is so engaging. He seems to have lost something towards the end of the movie which I can't put a finger on too. Maybe there is no proper closure ? Also what's with the rebel dancer/rap/hip-hop youngsters in all your movies, Ranjith? This movie may not be a milestone in Rajni's box-office blockbusters but I believe it is definitely going to be a milestone movie in his political career.