Poster of the movieNo arguments here; Kabali has taken the hype that surrounds a Rajinikanth film to a whole new level, to the extent that you just can’t escape it. The whole world is talking about the film – there’s an aircraft dedicated to the movie, lots of brands have come out with their Kabali merchandise to bank on the fever, many employees in Chennai are applying for leave from jobs on the movie’s release day and even my 3-year-old niece is putting her vocal cords to good exercise while mouthing the raspy, in-your-face song ‘Neruppu Da’.
It is quite understandable; a Rajinikanth movie is bound to create such frenzy and Kalipuli S. Thanu, the producer of the movie, is wisely moving his cards to make sure that the mania soars higher day by day as we approach the release date – July 22, this Friday. But, if you keep the crazy Thalaivar fan syndrome aside, there lies a genuine reason why Kabali is Rajinikanth’s most exciting film after the Mani Ratnam-directed Thalapathi, or even the most exciting film of his entire career.
Rajinikanth is playing a character close to his age in 'Kabali'Also check: Here's a chance to grab the first day first show ticket for 'Kabali'
Yes, that statement is made while keeping in mind the fact that Rajinikanth’s biggest hits came after Thalapathi of 1991 – he had Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Baashha, Muthu, Padayappa, Sivaji and Enthiran among other movies that made him the Superstar, with a capital S. Not that these movies did not thrill the audiences. The actor had been working with the top, established directors of the industry and achieved the brand that Rajinikanth is now.
And in 2016, he is doing a film with Pa. Ranjith, a two-movie-old director. Now, let’s rewind to 2012.
In August 2012, two friends and I were hanging out at the Express Avenue mall in Chennai. With nothing much to do, we decided to watch a film at the multiplex but hadn’t gone there deciding on a particular movie. There, one of the movies playing was Attakathi, Pa. Ranjith’s debut flick. The actors were unknown to us. We had seen the quirky poster and also the film’s interesting trailer, which had catchy music. Why not Attakathi, we thought.
Poster of the movie 'Attakathi'Two hours later, we stepped out of the movie hall contended, telling each other how we loved the movie. Attakathi did not have any stars, but had brilliant performances; Attakathi did not have a hero shouting punch dialogues, but had Dinesh playing a local payyan seeking the love of his life; Attakathi did not have a heroine who'd fall for the guy after his wooing tricks, but had a couple of strong, but realistic women characters who knew what they wanted. Attakathi also did not have an intro song for the hero, a dappankuthu number and a duet for the couple to dance around, but had some quality music by Santhosh Narayanan. Packaging it neatly, it was Pa. Ranjith announcing his arrival in the Tamil film industry. A small film, made out of a budget of Rs 1.75 crore (Rajinikanth's remuneration for Sivaji in 2007 was Rs 26 crore!), Attakathi had its heart in the right place and showcased the deft narrative techniques of the director. Ranjith kept things realistic for his debut film and ensured that his movie was technically solid.
That small film set up the platform for Ranjith. Studio Green, which distributed Attakathi, signed the young director to make his next. Two years later, in 2014, Ranjith released his next – Madras. He stepped up his game this time. The gutsy Madras showed us life in north Chennai, which is infamously known for its crowded population, narrow lanes and routine crime stories. The movie gave its actors, including hero Karthi, ever memorable characters and gave us, the audience, an outstanding film. It required real craftsmanship to weave a story over the dispute over a wall and Ranjith did it with finesse. The songs and the background score, again by Santhosh Narayanan, continue to amuse us even now.
Fast forwarding to the present in 2016, and maybe now you know why Rajinikanth deserves appreciation for doing Ranjith's Kabali. The star did not pick Ranjith to do his next movie, but the actor expressed his interest to do a movie with the director and Kabali was what the filmmaker had for him. Of course, Rajini wanted a major gear shift too after his last film Lingaa bombed at the box office.
The reason behind the excitement (Not the hype)
Rajinikanth in the movie 'Valli'Now, how Kabali will be different (or, we hope how it should be different) from other Rajini films – the director has already told us in an interview that the film is an 'emotional' one, devoid of any superhuman action. Ranjith is likely to tread a middle path, but would want the film to narrate the story of the aging don Kabaleeshwaran in his own way, making it as realistic as it can be. There will be fireworks (Neruppu da!), but Rajinikanth won't do a Superman act.
Speaking of age, Rajinikanth is playing a character close to his age in Kabali. He did that in the second portion of 1999 film Padayappa and nailed it. It was a treat to watch him as an aged Veeraiyan in the 1993 film Valli as well, he does that with great panache. We've seen the same in the two teasers of Kabali; he's at ease and that famous guffaw sounds reassuring than ever.
Poster of 'Kabali'Like his earlier two films, Ranjith is very much likely to give his female characters prominence in Kabali. The latest poster of the movie, where an intense-eyed Kumudhavalli, played by Radhika Apte, is chested inside her husband Kabaleeshwaran's heart, gives us ample evidence to believe so.
Pa. Ranjith has also given his set of actors their screen presence in Kabali, and it will be interesting to see a fresh set of buddies accompanying Rajinikanth. I am keen to see how the roles of Dinesh Ravi (Attakathi Dinesh), Kalaiyarasan and Riythvika would turn out.
The movie is also a giant elevation for the technicians involved – music director Santhosh Narayanan, cinematographer G. Murali, editor Praveen K.L. and others – their first Rajinikanth film. Santhosh is already in a safe seat; his songs have turned out to be massive chart-busters, and he is expected to continue his top form in creating captivating background score with Kabali.
A Rajinikanth movie is bound to create such frenzy, but this frenzy is unprecedented.When we say Kabali is the most exciting film of Rajinikanth after Thalapathi, please don't mistake it for the hype surrounding the movie. When Mani Ratnam directed Rajini, the director took time to finalize a script; he did not want to do a movie for the star, he wanted to make his movie with Rajinikanth in it sans his style elements. Here, 25 years later, I hope that Kabali would be a Pa. Ranjith film with Rajinikanth in it and yes, we dig the Kabali swag!
