‘Kaala’: Five reasons why the Rajinikanth-starrer is a blockbuster

It’s been a week since superstar Rajinikanth’s much-awaited film ‘Kaala’ hit the screens. Much to everyone’s expectations, the film has received an overwhelming response from the audience. In fact, ‘Kaala’ has opened to favourable reviews as well. If reports are anything to go by, the Rajinikanth-starrer is said to have grossed the Rs 100-crore mark at the worldwide box-office. While the film is running to packed houses, we give you five reasons why ‘Kaala’ was destined to be a blockbuster.

If not anything, ‘Kaala’ is easily Rajinikanth’s best film in years. When Pa Ranjith and Rajinikanth collaborated for ‘Kabali’, the expectations were huge among fans. However, the film opened to mixed response from the audience. Pa Ranjith quickly learnt what went wrong in ‘Kabali’ and has come up with ‘Kaala’, which is a far better conceived film than the former. One of the main reasons for the success of the film is that ‘Kaala’ humanises Rajinikanth, who has the reputation of playing a demigod on the screen. In the film, Pa Ranjith never ceased to show Rajinikanth’s vulnerability and the actor uses all his charisma for the people’s movement. Plus, Rajinikanth plays his age after a very long time. Unlike other stars, Rajinikanth is a director’s actor and with ‘Kaala’, Rajinikanth has once again proven that it’s difficult to write him off.

One of the biggest strengths of ‘Kaala’ is its music by Santhosh Narayanan. Especially the background score that comes in the rain fight sequence in the film. So far in his career, Santhosh Narayanan has never disappointed music lovers and ‘Kaala’ is no different. Though the album initially received mixed response from the audience, ‘Kaala’ songs have been beautifully picturised by Pa Ranjith that captures the essence of Dharavi and its people. Santhosh’s soundtrack speaks volumes in the scene where Nana Patekar meets Rajinikanth in the interval block, which is probably one of the most intriguing portions of ‘Kaala’. Needless to say, ‘Kaala’ is Santhosh Narayanan’s best work in recent years.

Political subtexts have almost become a pattern in Pa Ranjith’s films. Ranjith has taken up the subject of ‘Land’ and how it establishes the identity for the oppressed class. In fact, many have praised ‘Kaala’ to showcase the dichotomy between the oppressor and the oppressed. Thanks to Pa Ranjith, the film has invoked a lot of conversations about urbanism, casteism, colour and so on. Probably after many years, Rajinikanth has been pitted against a formidable villain in the form of Nana Patekar, who plays a cunning politician called Hari Dada. Ranjith has incorporated all the topical issues such as the jallikattu to the recent sterile protest to tell a compelling story that has worked in favour of ‘Kaala’.

Pa Ranjith is one of the most important filmmakers in Tamil cinema. When asked whether he’s a filmmaker or a politician, Ranjith said he’s the latter. In fact, ‘Kaala’ itself it loaded with Ranjith’s ideologies, be it Periyarism or Ambedkarism. Ranjith has smartly used Rajinikanth as a tool to disburse his thoughts about several rampant issues happening in the country. What caught the attention of fans is that Ranjith has wonderfully retold ‘The Ramayana’ story with Raavan as the protagonist. In ‘Kaala’, Nana Patekar calls Rajinikanth an “oththa thala Raavan”. Ranjith takes on pretty much everything ranging from casteism, fascism to classism. Not so long ago did we witness the sterile killings that claimed the lives of 13 civilians during the police firing. The filmmaker is being appreciated for asking the right questions, despite the flaws in ‘Kaala’.

Despite having a superstar like Rajinikanth on board, Pa Ranjith gives prominence to almost all the characters that come in ‘Kaala’. The director was particularly appreciated for writing such a strong female character, be it Eswari Rao as Kaala’s wife or Anjali Patil as Charumathi. Huma Qureshi plays Rajinikanth’s ex-lover named Zareena, who also gets a meaty portion in ‘Kaala’. But the interesting choice is to cast veteran actor Nana Patekar as the prime antagonist. Now that the film has turned out to be a blockbuster, it’s safe to say that Nana Patekar has stolen the show with his effortless performance as Hari Dada. Samuthirakani as Rajinikanth’s friend Valliappan provides the comical relief and gets some of the best lines. Interestingly, ‘Kaala’ also features Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi playing a police officer.