A spectacle of a movie and the return of a superstar
KAALA (Tamil) Direction: Pa Ranjith Actors: Rajinikanth, Easwari Rao, Huma Qureshi, Nana Patekar
Rating:
Is Kaala a spectacular film? Not really. Is it a spectacle? You bet it is. Kaala Karikaalan, the don who rules Dharavi, is not the star of the story. The plot revolves around the residents of this famously sprawling Mumbai slum. Specifically, the ones who left Tamil Nadu for a better life and ended up in this hub of industry with an annual turnover of $1 billion. They aren’t beneficiaries of that bustling industry, though. These are blue-collar workers who earn a living doing menial, manual labour. They are looked down upon, talked down to; no one will drink a glass of water in their homes.
Taking a cause close to his heart — the oppression of Dalits — director Pa Ranjith weaves just the kind of story you would expect, given that the vehicle is the people’s superstar, Rajinikanth. In Kabali (2016), fans felt the superstar’s superstardom had been underplayed by Ranjith; this time the director goes all out.
And yet there are shades of grey too. This hero is a layered, conflicted Robin Hood. By referring to Kaala as Raavanan, a man who thinks with 10 brains, Pa Ranjith begins to builds the layers early on. As each head of Raavan is cut off during the narration of the Ramayan in the backdrop, we see Kaala’s fight build in stages of loss, sacrifice and ultimate victory.
Pa Ranjith also references Kaala Karikaalan — the deity who guards villages and is offered non-vegetarian food and alcohol in tribute. Kaala’s son is named Lenin.
These are all details that ensure the story is rooted in Tamil culture. The Tamil accents are strong and authentic too.
Parts of the dialogue ring out loud in the theatre, giving the film the crowd-pleasingness required for a commercial hit. When Kaala says, “Black is the colour of labour!”; when he slams government; when he sits there and repeatedly ignores an ‘important’ man, he shows what attitude is. Producer Dhanush had it right; there were moments when the whistling wouldn’t stop.
A powerful hero needs a powerful adversary and Nana Patekar’s Hari Dada is just the man for the part.
He is casteist and contemptuous; a down-to-thebone bad guy. The music scored by Santhosh Narayanan works wonderfully and adds to the drama to the film. The occasional use of rap is particularly effective.
Sadly, Pankaj Tripathi is given little to do; as is Huma Qureshi, who plays Kaala’s first love.
This portion of the film feels like an extension of Kabali, just not as good.
When the two sit down to speak of the past and future, it feels forced; their relationship through the film feels like it’s been dragged and dropped in from somewhere else. All in all, though, Kaala works really well. And if you’re a fan of Rajinikanth the superhero, you will love it.