Kaala (2018 film)

Kaala
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Pa. Ranjith
Produced by Dhanush
Written by Pa. Ranjith
Aadhavan Dheetchanya
Makizhnan B. M.
(Dialogues)
Starring
Music by Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematography Murali G.
Edited by A. Sreekar Prasad
Production
company
Distributed by Lyca Productions
Release date
  • 6 June 2018 (2018-06-06) (Malaysia)[1]
  • 7 June 2018 (2018-06-07) (India)
Running time
 159 minutes[2]
Country India
Language Tamil
Budget ₹140 crore[3]
Box office est. ₹150.40–159.56 crore[4][5]

Kaala is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language sociopolitical action drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Dhanush. Starring Rajinikanth in the lead role,[6][7][8][9] the film was announced in 2016. The film was earlier scheduled to be released on 27 April 2018 but was postponed to June due to the standoff between Nadigar Sangam and Digital Service Providers on the increase of Virtual Print Fee charges along with the 2018 Tamil Nadu protests for Kaveri water sharing issue which also led to the delay in release of other Tamil films.[10][11] Kaala premiered in Malaysia on 6 June 2018,[1] followed by a release in 1,800 theatres in India on 7 June 2018.[12] The film was also dubbed into Telugu and released as Kaala and in Hindi as Kaala Karikalan.[13][14] The film is the first Indian film ever to be released in Saudi Arabia.[15][16][17]

Plot

In Mumbai, the people who had migrated from Tamil Nadu are living in the Dharavi slum. Union Minister Haridev "Hari Dada" Abhayankar (Nana Patekar), previously a gangster who had carried out attacks in Dharavi, tries to evict the people and seize their land. Over the years, he becomes a minister and plans to clear the area to construct buildings using his construction company in the form of government schemes with the help of his supporter Vishnu Bhai (Sampath Raj).

But Karikaalan (Rajinikanth), living in Dharavi, opposes it to protect the area and his people. His ex-lover Zareena (Huma Qureshi) returns to her native Dharavi as a representative non-governmental organization that hopes to improve Dharavi's living standards, unbeknownst of Hari Dhadha’s intentions. Hari Dhadha’s assassination attempt on Kaala, in order to take control of the area, kills Kaala’s wife Selvi (Easwari Rao) and elder son Selvam (Dileepan). Kaala decides to take revenge on him.

Hari Dhadha threatens the people in Dharavi by creating problems, but Kaala encourages the people to protest against the government in order to give up the scheme. Hari Dhadha creates a curfew in Dharavi by using the help of Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Patil (Pankaj Tripathi), his supporter. Along with some policemen and Hari Dhadha's right-hand man Sunil (Ravi Kale), the inspector, raids the area. Kaala fights with Hari Dhadha's henchmen and the police. Kaala's younger son Lenin (Manikandan), his daughter-in-law Charumathi "Puyal" (Anjali Patil), and his brother-in-law Vaaliyappan (Samuthirakani) also fight alongside him. Pankaj Patil gets arrested after a video taken by a reporter Praveen (Ramesh Thilak) during the curfew provides evidence that the henchmen were brought into Dharavi to create problems with police's support.

The police believes Kaala is dead after his chawl is set ablaze, and they inform the media. But the Dharavi people deny the news of his death. Hari Dhadha again enters Dharavi at a function for constructing a new building. Here, he begins to hallucinate Kaala's appearance among the crowd and behaves erratically. He is killed by the Dharavi people, and the government stops the scheme. With Dharavi's success, many slums start to follow Kaala's way of protest to protect their neighbourhood, irrespective of illegal land occupation.

Cast

  • Rajinikanth as Karikaalan "Kaala", Head of the Tamil people of Dharavi.
  • Nana Patekar as Haridev Abhayankar (Hari Dhadha), Union Minister of Acting Party and old rowdy who killed Kaala's father Venggaiyan.
  • Eswari Rao as Selvi, Kaala's wife.
  • Huma Qureshi as Zareena, Kaala's ex-girlfriend and Slum Clearance builder from Africa.
  • Samuthirakani as Vaaliyappan, Selvi's brother.
  • Anjali Patil as Charumathi (Puyal), Lenin's girlfriend and a member of 'Vizhithiru' group.
  • Nitish Veera as Kathiravan, Kaala's eldest son who runs his business
  • Dileepan as Selvam, Kaala's second son and main goon
  • Vikram as Kaala's third son
  • Manikandan as Lenin, Kaala's youngest son and the founder of 'Vizhithiru' group.
  • Aruldoss as Mani, Dharavi MLA
  • Sayaji Shinde as Maharashtra Minister
  • Sampath Raj as Vishnu Bhai, Local MLA and Hari Dada's silent goon
  • Aravind Akash as Sivaji Rao Gaekwad, Police Constable
  • Ravi Kale as Sunil, Hari Dada's sidekick
  • Pankaj Tripathi as SP Pankaj Patil
  • Arundhati as Kaala's daughter-in-law
  • Suganya as Kaala's daughter-in-law
  • Sakshi Agarwal as Kaala's daughter-in-law
  • Ramesh Thilak as Praveen, TV Reporter
  • Bikramjeet Kanwarpal as Manu Constructions Builder
  • Vishalini as Devi
  • Anitha as Newsreader
  • Suryakanth as MLA Candidate
  • Dopeadelicz as Dharavi resident
  • Kanna as Beemji, Dharavi resident

Production

Development

Following the commercial success of director Pa. Ranjith's gangster romantic drama Kabali (2016) starring Rajinikanth, actor-producer Dhanush announced that he had signed the duo to work on a new film for his production house, Wunderbar Films during late August 2016.[18] Refuting reports that the film would be a sequel to Kabali, Dhanush announced that production would begin during mid-2017 following the completion of Rajinikanth's work for Shankar's science fiction film 2.0 (2018). In early May 2017, the producers received an open letter from Sundar Shekar Mishra, the foster son of gangster Haji Mastan, threatening that the makers should not depict his father in negative light and if they did, they would face consequences.[19] In reply, Ranjith denied the film was a biopic of Haji Mastan and clarified that the film was based on fictional events, while revealing that Rajinikanth would play a man from Tirunelveli who escapes to Mumbai as a child and goes on to become a powerful don living in Dharavi slums.[20] The title of the film, Kaala was announced in late May 2017, with promotional posters carrying the film's first look released in Tamil, English, Hindi and Telugu.[21][22][23][24][25]

Casting and crew

Following the announcement of the film, Wunderbar Films sought to cast Vidya Balan in a leading role, but the actress turned down the offer.[26] Actress Huma Qureshi was later added to the cast in early May 2017 to feature in a role opposite Rajinikanth.[27][28] Marathi actress Anjali Patil also announced that she would be playing an important role in the film through a post on her official Twitter account.[29] Several members of the technical crew of Kabali were retained for Kaala, with A. Sreekar Prasad replacing Praveen K. L. as the film's editor during its pre-production stage.[30] Bollywood actor Nana Patekar has been signed to play a politician who is the antagonist.[31][32][33] As said earlier, Huma Qureshi is not paired with Rajinikanth; Easwari Rao is doing that role.[32] Dileepan of Vathikuchi fame is playing as one of the sons of Rajnikanth and Huma Qureshi is playing Zareena, Rajnikanth's ex-girlfriend.[34][35]

Filming

Shooting of this film started on 28 May 2017 at Mumbai and the lead actor Rajinikanth participated in this first schedule.[36][37][38][39][40] Due to heavy rains in Mumbai, the team had taken a break and erected a set at Chennai with Mumbai as its backdrop.

Anand Mahindra, chairman and managing director of Mahindra Group, was interested in the jeep which was used in the first look poster of this movie. He tweeted that he would love to acquire that jeep for his company's auto museum.[41][42]

K. Rajashekaran of GSR Vinmeen Creations filed a case claiming the title of this film against Pa Ranjith, Rajnikanth and Dhanush. His allegation was that he had registered the title Kaarikalan with the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.[43][44] In response, Wunderbar Films filed a counter-affidavit saying the story was written by Pa Ranjith and the title Kaala is registered by M/s Mini Studio, a sister concern of Wunderbar Films, with Tamil Film Producers Council on 24 May 2017.[45]

Soundtrack

Kaala (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Santhosh Narayanan
Released 9 May 2018
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Language Tamil
Telugu
Hindi
Label Wunderbar Studios
Divo
Producer Santhosh Narayanan
Dhanush
Santhosh Narayanan chronology
Server Sundaram
(2017)Server Sundaram2017		 Kaala
(2018)		 Mercury
(2018)Mercury2018

Tamil tracklist

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Singer(s)Length
1."Semma Weightu"Arunraja Kamaraj, DopeadeliczHariharasudhan, Santhosh Narayanan04:57
2."Thanga Sela"Arunraja KamarajShankar Mahadevan, Pradeep Kumar and Ananthu04:54
3."Katravai Patravai"Kabilan, Arunraja Kamaraj and Roshan JamrockYogi B, Arunraja Kamaraj, Roshan Jamrock and Rajinikanth (Voice Over)03:45
4."Kannamma"Uma DeviPradeep Kumar and Dhee05:14
5."Kannamma (Acapella)"Uma DeviAnanthu02:55
6."Urimayai Meetpom"ArivuVijay Prakash, Ananthu06:44
7."Poraaduvom"Dopeadelicz, LoganDopeadelicz03:35
8."Theruvilakku"Dopeadelicz, LoganDopeadelicz and Muthamil02:51
9."Nikkal Nikkal"Dopeadelicz, LoganDopeadelicz, Vivek and Arunraja Kamaraj02:44
Telugu tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Yama Greattu"Pranav Changanty, DopeadeliczHariharasudhan and Santhosh Narayanan04:57
2."Chittamma"VanamaliPradeep Kumar, Shweta Mohan 
3."Raaye Naa Range Leela"VanamaliShankar Mahadevan, Ananthu and Pradeep Kumar 
4."Nikkal Nikkal"Pranav Changanty and DopeadeliczPranav Changanty and Dopeadelicz 
5."Poradathaam"Pranav Changanty and DopeadeliczPranav Changanty and Dopeadelicz 
6."Nele Maa Hakku"ChandraboseVijay Prakash, Ananthu 
7."Maa Veedhula"Pranav Changanty and DopeadeliczVijaynarain, Pranav Changanty and Dopeadelicz 
8."Onti Thala Raavana"Vanamali, Sreeramakrishna and Roshan JamrockRoshan Jamrock and Arunraja Kamaraj 
Hindi tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Bahut Bhaari Hai"DopeadeliczRohit Fernandes, Santhosh Narayanan04:57
2."Sajna"Varun GroverAnanthu, Shweta Mohan 
3."Sone Ki Tu Ek Murat"KumaarShankar Mahadevan, Ananthu, Pradeep Kumar 
4."Nikkal Nikkal"DopeadeliczDopeadelicz, Arunraja Kamaraj 
5."Inqulab Ke Liye"DopeadeliczDopeadelicz 
6."Dharti Pe Haq Hai"Rakesh Kumar TripathiVijay Prakash, Ananthu 
7."Sadkon Ke Deepak"DopeadeliczVijaynarain and Dopeadelicz 
8."Ik Sar Waale Raavana"Varun Grover and Roshan JamrockRoshan Jamrock, Arunraja Kamaraj 

Critical reception

The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and stated that Ranjith owes to his excellent technical crew for "helping him visualise and deliver this 51% Rajini-49% Ranjith movie".[46] The Indian Express rated the movie 3.5 out of 5 and said that,''Ranjith stays true to his objective. The traces of what we saw in Kabali have been fleshed out and beautifully embellished.''.[47] NDTV rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars and stated that Kaala is out and out a director's film with a strong political core. Rajinikanth, in a toned-down avatar, is a bonus.'.[48] Meanwhile, The Hindu criticized the movie for its political elements and rated the film 2 out of 5, stating "an underwhelming film made for Rajinikanth, the politician. It’s difficult to think of Kaala as a film that was written for a star who claims to have had no political ambitions at the time. Now that he has become a politician, it’s Rajni the superstar that we long to see".[49] The Hindustan Times gave its ratings as 4 out of 5 for the movie, stating "Rajinikanth lends his voice to Pa Ranjith’s political viewpoint".[50]

References

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Rajinikanth's Kaala earns Rs 230 crore ahead of release". Business Today. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Rajinikanth starrer incurs huge losses to distributors". MSN. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Kaala surpasses Rs 150 Cr mark in 3 weeks: Rajinikanth becomes only south Indian hero with three 150 Cr grossers". Firstpost. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. ↑ KAALA – British Board of Film Classification Archived 15 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Kaala teaser: Rajinikanth's reunion with Pa Ranjith after Kabali poses a serious question — will the man ever age? Archived 19 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "KZaala | Latest Tamil news about Kaala". Vikatan (in Tamil). Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Never seen such a humble Superstar: Huma Qureshi". deccanchronicle.com/. 16 August 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Is the release of 'Kaala' getting postponed?". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Lyca tweet hints at Kaala postponement". The Indian Express. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "It's Kaala time at last!". Deccan Chronicle. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  13. ↑ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/kaala-the-rajinikanth-starrers-telugu-version-shorter-than-the-tamil-version/articleshow/64446040.cms
  14. ↑ https://scroll.in/reel/880802/kaala-in-hindi-match-rajinikanths-dialogue-delivery-keep-the-spirit-of-the-original
  15. ↑ "Rajinikanth's 'Kaala' becomes first Indian film to release in Saudi Arabia – Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  16. ↑ "'Kaala' Becomes First Indian Film to Be Released in Saudi Arabia". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  17. ↑ "சவுதி அரேபியாவில் வெளியாகியுள்ள முதல் இந்தியப் படம் - காலா!". Dinamani. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  18. ↑ "Rajinikanth-Pa.Ranjith combo under Dhanush's production soon". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  19. ↑ "Rajini's next film is not based on Haji Masthan". The Hindu. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  20. ↑ "Rajinikanth film Kaala Karikaalan poster: Dhanush reveals first look of Thalaivar's gangster drama, see photos". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  21. ↑ "Superstar Rajinikanth's next titled 'Kaala'". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  22. ↑ "Kaala Movie Review". PakkaTv. 7 June 2018.
  23. ↑ "Kaala Movie First Day First Show Celebrated by Superstar Fans at Kasi Theatre". PakkaTv. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "Kaala Movie Public Opinion". PakkaTv. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  25. ↑ "Kaala Movie Review by Praveena". PakkaTv. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "We will know in a while: Vidya on working with Rajinikanth". The Times of India. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  27. ↑ "Huma Qureshi to star opposite Rajinikanth". The Hindu. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  28. ↑ "Rajinikanth: Here's what Huma Qureshi has to say on starring opposite Rajinikanth!". The Times of India. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  29. ↑ "Rajnikanth: This Marathi actress will be paired with Rajinikanth". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  30. ↑ "Editor Praveen KL out of Ranjith's film?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  31. ↑ "Kaala goes on floors". Deccan Chronicle. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  32. 1 2 "Nana Patekar plays a politician". deccanchronicle.com/. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  33. ↑ "Kaala to be shot in Chennai". deccanchronicle.com/. 15 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  34. ↑ "Dileepan plays Rajinikanth's son". deccanchronicle.com/. 5 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  35. ↑ "Thanga Sela – Video Song". PakkaTv. 11 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "Rajinikanth leaves for Mumbai to shoot for Kaala". The Indian Express. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "Rajinikanth leaves for Mumbai to shoot for 'Kaala'". Daily News and Analysis. 27 May 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  38. ↑ "Thalaivar 164: Rajinikanth heads to Mumbai for his next with Pa Ranjith : Celebrities, News". India Today. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  39. ↑ "Amid talk on his political career, Rajinikanth arrives in Mumbai to shoot for Kaala". Deccan Chronicle. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  40. ↑ "Rajinikanth's 'Kaala Karikaalan' starts rolling". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  41. ↑ "Anand Mahindra wants to acquire the jeep used in Kaala first look for their company's auto museum". Behindwoods. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  42. ↑ "anand mahindra on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  43. ↑ "Kaala gets embroiled in plagiarism controversy". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  44. ↑ "Rajini's Kaala Title Controversy". Cine Josh. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  45. ↑ "Kaala plagiarism row: Director Ranjith has penned script, Rajinikanth tells court". Deccan Chronicle. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  46. ↑ "Kabali (aka) Kaala review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  47. ↑ "Kaala review". 9 June 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  48. ↑ "'Kaala Movie Review". 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  49. ↑ "Kabali review: The Hindu". 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  50. ↑ HT Kaala Movie Review Archived 9 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
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