Kaala Review: Rajinikanth’s best in recent times!
Amidst huge fanfare, Rajinikanth’s much awaited Kaala hit screens on Thursday (June 7). The movie marks the superstar’s second outing with director Pa Ranjith after Kabali. The impressive promos promised an action-packed mass flick, but let’s see what the movie has to offer.
Kaala has a simple story line that has been told in numerous ways over these years – the oppressed community fighting against those in power. It is a classic case of black versus white. The political subtext in Pa Ranjith’s films have been subtle so far, but it is very loud and clear in Kaala. Rajinikanth is this messiah like do-gooder for the Tamil community living in the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai. What happens when a corporate group backed by the ruling party try to take up the slums forms the crux of Kaala.
But Kaala is more than just that. Renjith is trying to make some strong statements here. For years, slum dwellers have been shown in poor light in cinema. Ranjith tried to redress it in Madras and he continues the same here in Kaala as well. He has smartly infused the socio-political issues that the country is facing today into his plot. Nationalist party, Digital Dharavi, Pure Mumbai, the saffron and growing dominance of the wealthy are all clearly aimed at a particular group and Ranjith does not have any intentions to mask it.
Ranjith has also done a commendable job in rectifying most of his mistakes from Kabali. The casting here is worth a mention as most of the supporting actors manage to leave a mark. Unlike in Kabali, the director has sketched a powerful villain role and the veteran Nana Patekar has owned the role effortlessly. Even while staying rooted to his story line and ideologies, Ranjith has loaded the script with enough mass moments for the fans to celebrate. Watch out for the climax, the director has done something very brave.
On the performance side, Rajinikanth stands tall among all others. At the age of 67, his energy and screen presence is unmatched. Apart from the mass moments, which he has always aced at, we can see a refined Rajinikanth in the romance portions involving him and the lead ladies – Eeswari Rao (Selvi) and Huma Quereshi (Zarina). Samuthirakani, Eeswari Rao, the young couple – Manikandan and ‘Newton’ fame Anjali Patil – were the most impressive among the supporting actors.
Santhosh Narayanan, a regular in Pa Ranjith films, has delivered a decent work. But the makers choosing not to use the ‘Poraduvom’ song, one of the best in the album, was baffling. The rain fight sequence was brilliantly choreographed and cinematographer Murali has also done his part well.
Overall, Kaala is a Rajinikanth film with a Ranjith signature all over it. Not flawless, but definitely paisa-vasool.
