Kaala..An ode to Rajini the actor
Kaala is one of the most important films in the recent years. Rarely has a mainstream actor showcased so many issues in one film.
When it’s a Pa. Ranjith film, there are bound to be political references and this one is the same too. Infact, of the 3 films of his that I’ve seen (Madras, Kabali, Kaala), this is the most political film. I love his idea of looking at things differently.
This film is not for people seeking entertainment. This is for people who want to watch Rajini the actor who’s coming to terms with his age and in this film, he plays his age. His action, diction, confidence, arresting screen presence are second to none. Look at the manner where he owns some of the vital scenes in the film.
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The film touches some of the most pertinent issues affecting us around the country. The film touches issues like those of the slum dwellers, the people who’ve been living in a particular area for long and how corporate biggies or politicians want to grab that land, a probable reference to the recent Sterlite protests; it also touches points like police high-handedness, the way police have been shown as agent-provocators of riots, the police’s mishandling of situations, the religious tones to the riots, to what extent politicians can go to have 'their' say in anything that they want. It also touches the beef issue that has incited religious violence in some places.
The film touches the issues of Dalits, the dalit politics, the references to Ambedkar. The film shows the power of rising up to the establishment.
Kaala is the story of the man of the masses; one who’s the face of resistance, goodness and strength of the slum dwellers. And Rajini excels in this role. His comic timing is really good. This film marks the comeback of Rajini the actor after a while. Eswari Rao as his wife is a scream on the screen. She lights up the screen everytime she’s there. Huma Qureshi is actually good in her role; she holds her own against the mighty Rajini in all their scenes. Samuthirakani is good in his role. The guys who played Kaala’s sons are good. Pankaj Tripathi is really good in his role of a police inspector. Nana Patekar is fabulous; wish he had more scenes..
Technically, the film is good. The music isn’t as good as Kabali but the BGM is definitely for keeps; kudos to Santosh Narayanan for that.
Ranjith has written this film well, covering so many issues. His direction is good as well; some scenes have been brilliantly shot. Some parts have been edited well.
The hip-hop street music and box-beats have been shown in a new way at various times all through the film.
The usage of Colors in the film is very interesting. The usage of black and blue to represent the slum dwellers is quite new. Here, white is the face of evil and black is the Color of the hero :-)
Editing is good. Dubbing could have been better (we watched the Telugu version). That said, the film is very good. It’s a good political film with all the regular tropes. Watch this film just for Rajini.
Picture credits: Google images
