Kaala - A Ranjith movie
Kaala
To be honest, i did not watch this movie for Rajini but for Ranjith.
First thing that stood out in the movie is the grand set of Dharavi.Its very very difficult to find which ones were shot really in Dharavi and the ones in the set. Art director
Ramalingam's work definitely deserves praise.Because creating something for fantasy film sometimes could be very easy
But to recreate something existing realistically is far more difficult.
Second stand out aspect is the casting.It is spot on.Every character is played by people who perfectly fit the role and they have lived the role.Even small roles play something significant than just be props.Amongst supporting cast Anjali Patil (Puyal Charumathi),Manikandan(Lenin),Samuthirakani(valliappan),Dileepan(Selva),Huma Qureshi(Zareena),Thilak(Reporter) and finally Easwari Rao(Selvi) is first among equals among the supporting cast.
Main characters- Rajini as Kaala fits the character perfectly.Like Kabaali he is not just an uneducated DON but somebody who is well read and has an ideology that is - Don't be cowed down to oppressors.Rather rise against oppression.There are enough subliminal message in the form of props to show that his ideology is a mixture of Dravidianism,Theism but not typical Hinduism,Ambedkarism,Communism.(Books like Ravana Kaaviyam, disdain for rituals,Buddha's image,Black coloured dress, Budha Vihar temple background,native god worship etc).Rajini plays it effortlessly.
And it's just because the antagonist Nana Pareja(Hari Dada) is a staunch Hindu Maharashtrian roaming around in whites but a character with lot of blot and stain.
A battle ensues between Kaala and Haridada on the land of Dharani with latter trying to usurp the land to personal gains but under the disguise of "Pure Mumbai" scheme with Kaala resisting it.
Other most important aspect is the BGM by Santhosh Narayanan and every time in crucial scenes it just sets the pulse raising.Songs are reasonably good but not as good as Kabali though.
Finally the star of the movie is Ranjith.He clearly stamps the authority that it's a Ranjith movie in which Rajini is an actor rather than the other way around.He is unabashedly anti-Hindutva and Pro-Oppressor.No hesitation at all.It takes a lot of guts to make a movie like this.Hats off.And the story is seamlessly woven showing the background of the land,power equation and politics at play.There are some superb scenes like initial encounters of Rajini with the little villain Sampath (VishnuBhai)leading on to the clash with Hari Dada.Scene where Haridada and Kaala are powerful,impactful and well made.He also makes it clear its not just one person who can turn around things which is a gain a brave attempt with Rajini as hero and general over the top hero worship in Kollywood.
Finally its an awesome and colourful climax which is not the regular long drawn fight sequence but a different attempt but yet impactful.One of the key let down in Kabaali was the lenggggggthyyyyy climax which just was too tiresome for viewers.Its corrected in this movie.
Though Rajini as a politician has been confusing at best.Rajini as an actor is just brilliant.Period.
Overall the movie is a good one and it should do well for the reason that it's got a good story and not because it's got Rajini as hero but it's a directors movie.No wonder even after 2 weeks its doing well despite negative publicity because of Rajini's good up and also negative movie criticism by the so called 'movie critics'.Critics can't do much about a movie.They can try and get money from certain people to write in favor or against but it's just not going to change the reak fate of the movie.
To be honest, i did not watch this movie for Rajini but for Ranjith.
First thing that stood out in the movie is the grand set of Dharavi.Its very very difficult to find which ones were shot really in Dharavi and the ones in the set. Art director
Ramalingam's work definitely deserves praise.Because creating something for fantasy film sometimes could be very easy
But to recreate something existing realistically is far more difficult.
Second stand out aspect is the casting.It is spot on.Every character is played by people who perfectly fit the role and they have lived the role.Even small roles play something significant than just be props.Amongst supporting cast Anjali Patil (Puyal Charumathi),Manikandan(Lenin),Samuthirakani(valliappan),Dileepan(Selva),Huma Qureshi(Zareena),Thilak(Reporter) and finally Easwari Rao(Selvi) is first among equals among the supporting cast.
Main characters- Rajini as Kaala fits the character perfectly.Like Kabaali he is not just an uneducated DON but somebody who is well read and has an ideology that is - Don't be cowed down to oppressors.Rather rise against oppression.There are enough subliminal message in the form of props to show that his ideology is a mixture of Dravidianism,Theism but not typical Hinduism,Ambedkarism,Communism.(Books like Ravana Kaaviyam, disdain for rituals,Buddha's image,Black coloured dress, Budha Vihar temple background,native god worship etc).Rajini plays it effortlessly.
And it's just because the antagonist Nana Pareja(Hari Dada) is a staunch Hindu Maharashtrian roaming around in whites but a character with lot of blot and stain.
A battle ensues between Kaala and Haridada on the land of Dharani with latter trying to usurp the land to personal gains but under the disguise of "Pure Mumbai" scheme with Kaala resisting it.
Other most important aspect is the BGM by Santhosh Narayanan and every time in crucial scenes it just sets the pulse raising.Songs are reasonably good but not as good as Kabali though.
Finally the star of the movie is Ranjith.He clearly stamps the authority that it's a Ranjith movie in which Rajini is an actor rather than the other way around.He is unabashedly anti-Hindutva and Pro-Oppressor.No hesitation at all.It takes a lot of guts to make a movie like this.Hats off.And the story is seamlessly woven showing the background of the land,power equation and politics at play.There are some superb scenes like initial encounters of Rajini with the little villain Sampath (VishnuBhai)leading on to the clash with Hari Dada.Scene where Haridada and Kaala are powerful,impactful and well made.He also makes it clear its not just one person who can turn around things which is a gain a brave attempt with Rajini as hero and general over the top hero worship in Kollywood.
Finally its an awesome and colourful climax which is not the regular long drawn fight sequence but a different attempt but yet impactful.One of the key let down in Kabaali was the lenggggggthyyyyy climax which just was too tiresome for viewers.Its corrected in this movie.
Though Rajini as a politician has been confusing at best.Rajini as an actor is just brilliant.Period.
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