Kaala - A flashback review #2yearsofKAALA
As the film completes 2 years since release, today. I thought I would share the review again for this highly controversial, above-average yet unforgettable 'Rajini' movie.
(I am not writing anything new, just sharing the review I once wrote on FB.)
A female protestor is fighting against the police, the policemen catch her and remove her pants forcibly. 'Cause, the easiest way to silence a woman is to strip her off her honour, isn't it? They wear a wicked smile on their faces as she struggles to move towards her pants. She reaches near her dress but her hand grasps something else. A lathi. She beats back at the police, her pants still lying on the ground. This is what 'Kaala' is about. Kaala is a Rajinikanth's film, but it is not all about him. It's about the people and he's one of them. He's not Velu Nayakar 'Ayya' or Baasha 'Bhai' or even Raju 'Bhai'. The kids who play cricket with him call him Kaala, just Kaala, no titles. The teens in the neighbourhood tease him playfully with his age. He is a saviour, but still is one of them. He is not there because of a tragic flashback, he was born there and most likely would die there.
Ranjith intentionally downplays the character. And the results are interesting. We get the electrifying 'Kya Rey' dialogue and just as we are getting ready to whistle, we come to know that 'Vengai Mavan' isn't actually standing alone. The credit goes to someone else. In a completely contrasting scene, a big politician comes to Kaala's own place and threatens him. Kaala doesn't retaliate, he silently listens to him until he finishes and walks away. Just when we decide that this isn't a typical Rajinikanth film and sit back, Kaala declares 'Naan unna kilamba sollalayea'. And there, you can have your whistles!
I loved the romance portions. Not the one with Kaala's Ex-Fiance. Kaala's love life is not at its best in the beautifully animated flashbacks, not in Kanamma song, but, when he talks about his wife to his Ex. When he tells her where his priorities lie. And the small portions between him and his loud wife are cute. Eswari Rao is perfect for her role.
Even the intimate life of the atmosphere characters are deep even though it just comes for a second or so. A character from the crowd says how she and his husband would meet, 'My parents won't allow me out since I came of age. The only time I could meet him is when I come to the (public) toilet', she blushes. Crowded public toilets, narrow streets and rooms filled with people, where being intimate isn't even an option, this is their life. And Ranjith has captured it beautifully. The art direction and cinematography are so perfect that you will feel like a resident of Dharavi after the film. God only knows, how they got cameras into those narrow streets.
As I said before, Kaala is just an above-average film, but its boldness to address certain things, that too in a top star's film, is what makes it compelling. 'Killing for protesting is Fascism' a character says. Familiar? A rich girl presumably a celeb, talks to the media about the protest. 'I think half of them(protestors) are criminals', she says. I actually saw these types of statements on FB when our farmers were out there protesting(back when the film was released). The movie further talks about a politician, who talks about Clean Mumbai, Digital Mumbai, involve in divisive politics, use the police force unlawfully to clear the protesters and is a religious person. Creepily familiar? Not to a single person of course, but to many of today's politicians.
The film constantly struggles between Rajinism and Ranjith, but, you have to give it to him, the climax is totally Ranjith's. The scene preceding the climax is a great touch too. Hari Dada(Nana Patekar) thinks of him as white, pure Lord Ram and Kaala as the dark and despicable Raavanan. If u watch closely there's a Ram statue in his house and you could spot the 'Raavana Kaaviyam' book in Kaala's room. In the scene preceding the climax, a priest reads Ramayana to Hari Dada and his granddaughters. He tells how Ram took Ravana's head one by one, while in Dharavi, Kaala's companions are taken one by one. And every time a head falls a new one takes its place! That's what the third act is about. It's not about 'Rajinikanth', a single person, it's about the people. Every single person is Kaala, he says. He becomes a symbol. If he falls, someone else will take his place, the protest will never end. A new head will always raise. And the climax finishes off with a grand 'V for vendetta' -esque feel. The regular audience will feel it a tad confusing, but again, if you give it enough attention, you will see the meaning.
As I said Kaala is not a masterpiece, it's even boring at times, but it got layers that are so deep, that if you watch closely you may come to love it.
(I am not writing anything new, just sharing the review I once wrote on FB.)
KAALA
A female protestor is fighting against the police, the policemen catch her and remove her pants forcibly. 'Cause, the easiest way to silence a woman is to strip her off her honour, isn't it? They wear a wicked smile on their faces as she struggles to move towards her pants. She reaches near her dress but her hand grasps something else. A lathi. She beats back at the police, her pants still lying on the ground. This is what 'Kaala' is about. Kaala is a Rajinikanth's film, but it is not all about him. It's about the people and he's one of them. He's not Velu Nayakar 'Ayya' or Baasha 'Bhai' or even Raju 'Bhai'. The kids who play cricket with him call him Kaala, just Kaala, no titles. The teens in the neighbourhood tease him playfully with his age. He is a saviour, but still is one of them. He is not there because of a tragic flashback, he was born there and most likely would die there.
Ranjith intentionally downplays the character. And the results are interesting. We get the electrifying 'Kya Rey' dialogue and just as we are getting ready to whistle, we come to know that 'Vengai Mavan' isn't actually standing alone. The credit goes to someone else. In a completely contrasting scene, a big politician comes to Kaala's own place and threatens him. Kaala doesn't retaliate, he silently listens to him until he finishes and walks away. Just when we decide that this isn't a typical Rajinikanth film and sit back, Kaala declares 'Naan unna kilamba sollalayea'. And there, you can have your whistles!
Even the intimate life of the atmosphere characters are deep even though it just comes for a second or so. A character from the crowd says how she and his husband would meet, 'My parents won't allow me out since I came of age. The only time I could meet him is when I come to the (public) toilet', she blushes. Crowded public toilets, narrow streets and rooms filled with people, where being intimate isn't even an option, this is their life. And Ranjith has captured it beautifully. The art direction and cinematography are so perfect that you will feel like a resident of Dharavi after the film. God only knows, how they got cameras into those narrow streets.
As I said before, Kaala is just an above-average film, but its boldness to address certain things, that too in a top star's film, is what makes it compelling. 'Killing for protesting is Fascism' a character says. Familiar? A rich girl presumably a celeb, talks to the media about the protest. 'I think half of them(protestors) are criminals', she says. I actually saw these types of statements on FB when our farmers were out there protesting(back when the film was released). The movie further talks about a politician, who talks about Clean Mumbai, Digital Mumbai, involve in divisive politics, use the police force unlawfully to clear the protesters and is a religious person. Creepily familiar? Not to a single person of course, but to many of today's politicians.
The film constantly struggles between Rajinism and Ranjith, but, you have to give it to him, the climax is totally Ranjith's. The scene preceding the climax is a great touch too. Hari Dada(Nana Patekar) thinks of him as white, pure Lord Ram and Kaala as the dark and despicable Raavanan. If u watch closely there's a Ram statue in his house and you could spot the 'Raavana Kaaviyam' book in Kaala's room. In the scene preceding the climax, a priest reads Ramayana to Hari Dada and his granddaughters. He tells how Ram took Ravana's head one by one, while in Dharavi, Kaala's companions are taken one by one. And every time a head falls a new one takes its place! That's what the third act is about. It's not about 'Rajinikanth', a single person, it's about the people. Every single person is Kaala, he says. He becomes a symbol. If he falls, someone else will take his place, the protest will never end. A new head will always raise. And the climax finishes off with a grand 'V for vendetta' -esque feel. The regular audience will feel it a tad confusing, but again, if you give it enough attention, you will see the meaning.
As I said Kaala is not a masterpiece, it's even boring at times, but it got layers that are so deep, that if you watch closely you may come to love it.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment