The expectations were high on Kaala which will is the first film to be released after Rajinikanth announced his political entry in December last year.
Had Kaala stuck to its original release date of April 27, it could have been seen as superstar Rajinikanth's political statement. Post-Thoothikudi, the film ends up less as a manifesto and more as a stick in the hands of his critics to beat him with. And again, somewhere in between Superstar Rajinikanth is lost.
The expectations were high on Kaala which is the first film to be released after Rajinikanth announced his political entry in December last year. Director Pa Ranjit who has done a back to back film with Rajini after Kabali in 2016 has left his stamp all over the superstar’s film.
In Tamil Nadu, the film stars often used the movies as a platform to enter politics. The reel and the real life are intertwined so deeply that the people refuse to accept the reality. In the Kaala, Rajinikanth leads a protest for protecting the land rights of the slum dwellers against the villain – a politician. He talks about the usurping of the poor’s land for the so-called slum development by the vested political and corporate interests. He pitches for the government to fund the poor to help build their own houses on their land rather than constructing multi-storey buildings. When the villain politician Nana Patekar, who plays Harideve Abhayankar, attempts to forcibly take over the land, Rajini gives a clarion call to his people to use their bodies as weapons to fight against the exploiters.
In real life, politician Rajinikanth chooses to stand with the police who were seen as oppressor for firing on the anti-Sterlite protestors on May 22 in which 13 people died in Thoothukudi. He also rather took a contradictory stand admonishing protestors that Tamil Nadu would be turned into a graveyard if “we protested for each and everything” and warned that no new industries would come leading to unemployment.
The contradictions did not stop there. Rajinikanth who called the attack on police as the worst form of violence was seen hitting a policeman in his Kaala avatar and his supporters pelted stones on the police stations akin to the “anti-socials” who indulged in violence in Thoothukudi.
While Rajinikanth accused of too close to BJP, his fans identify films villain with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the movie, Rajinikanth opposes the villain politician plan to convert Dharavi into “Digital Dharavi and Pure Mumbai” akin to Modi’s pet schemes of “Digital India and Swachh Bharat”.
The superstar who promised to usher in spiritual politics in the state declares that he would not hesitate to take on the God if it tries to take away Dharavi.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi general secretary and writer D Ravikumar said that the attack on the BJP in the Kaala was an expected one as the actor wanted to arrest the slide caused by his spiritual politics announcement. He also sees a scheme in the actor’s Thoothukudi visit where he echoed the BJP’s statement. “Normally, a disclaimer will be published at the end of the statement. Whereas it has come first,” he said.
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