KAALA
This is neither an appreciation piece nor a critical review for the film Kaala. This is just a reaction to the supposedly “mixed” reactions to the film from all and sundry. Let’s be honest, most of these mixed reactions are actually negative reactions, arising because a socio-political spectrum we don’t want to visualize or address, has been in our face for 166 minutes. We just wish that it remained hidden from our gloss-filled lives. Or, perhaps we can touch upon it from time to time with cutesies like Kaaka Muttai. But this in your face approach of Ranjith is simply too much for our sensitivities, isn’t it?
Rajini wasn’t allowed to speak mind-numbing punchlines like ‘naan oru thadava sonna nooru thadava sonna madiri’ or ‘ghatham ghatham’. Instead, Ranjith gave him lines of importance that actually made sense. And why was he forced to sport either Black or Blue throughout the film, where is the sense in that? Rajinikanth wore more colors in one song from Muthu than he did in this entire film. Given all the scope for heroism & fight sequences, defying gravity and common sense, Ranjith chose to give Rajinikanth, a couple of minutes on a bridge with an umbrella. To top this all, Rajinikanth was saved by his son even before he could clench his fists. Rajinkanth was saved! Heck, he wasn’t even allowed to hit a sixer off a kid’s bowling. I mean, how they dare make the all-powerful Superstar a caricature of sorts?
Bloody Ranjith! Kudos to him for cleaning up whatever is left of this idiotic one man army aura crap and reminding the viewers that nobody and nothing can stop a people-friendly ideology backed up by the collective. Obtuse critics questioning Ranjith’s choice of location being Dharavi instead of Chennai need to remind themselves about his first two films. Ever since Rajini has chosen to associate with Ranjith, his scripts have been forced out of Chennai to Malaysia and Mumbai. This only throws light on veteran Superstar’s penchant to play it safe & not on the four films old Ranjith’s unwillingness to be bold. Given the freedom, I’m positive Ranjith would center his script on and about Tamil Nadu soon enough. He is after all an activist in the guise of a filmmaker and not a wannabe politician in the guise of an actor.
The reversals of Nana Patekar & Rajinikanth’s real life ideologies for the film is a paradigm for irony. The epitome of this should’ve been felt by many throughout the Ramayana sequence. Zarina embodies the elitist social worker with zilch understanding of ground scenario. Kaala’s sons symbolize Capitalism (Kathiravan), Anarchism (Selvam), Conservatism (Third son) & Communism (Lenin). Karikalan supported MLA’s party flag is basically India’s flag where the saffron has been replaced with blue. Also, the Perumaulsaamy character is as close as one can get to a certain Gopalasaamy. Some have reportedly found a resemblance between Hari’s party flag & Naam Thamizhar’s flag. But it could be based on Shiv Sena’s flag or not. You never know. Ranjith doesn’t miss a thing. It’s a pity if you do.
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Before Kaala’s release, I was perturbed about the fact that the politics which Rajinikanth will be forced to prescribe by a section majorly consisting of educated fools & bigots, would harm the chances of Ranjith speaking out loud through his film. Thankfully, Rajinikanth has been transformed into the megaphone I expected him to be. Ranjith has used brand Rajini like no one before him. More importantly, he has ensured that Brand Rajini cannot possibly speak dumb rightwing politics through films hereafter. Fret not, Rajinikanth will definitely do so in fan club meetings organized by the BJP, much to our amusement. But his films cannot be political vehicles that promote Saffronisation of Tamil Nadu or India.
Expert movie reviewers looking for ‘aesthetic’ cinema should rather revisit films by GVM or Mani Ratnam instead of trying to inadequately dissect what is essentially a propagandist film and then lamely offer a self-styled defense involving nothing but elitist bullshit. Nevertheless, what I saw in the film was (Dalitism encapsulated) Dravidianism in all its glory countering RSS drenched in all its ugliness.
Start getting used to the idea that Karikaalan embodies Dravidianism and Dharavi is Tamil Nadu and you’ll find that everything falls into place. Right from the utter disdain for a “nationalist” leader creating waves across the country to that effervescent finale where black, red and blue spifflicate saffron to smithereens, every frame speaks layers & layers of politics.
We are a free country and everybody is entitled to their opinions no matter who is in power. So, yes, your reviews and views on Kaala will be shared and talked about by your own kind. But if you find that your ability to be bigoted has overtaken your ability to be sensible, you’d need a psyche analysis right away. Unhealthy if you ask me. So, do take care.
By the way, ‘Parasakthi’ comparisons are certainly far-fetched. But I would venture to confidently assume that the writer of Parasakthi would certainly enjoy watching Kaala, a film of & by Pa.Ranjith, for the people. Our people.
