8 June 2018
Hyderabad

This is my opinion and feedback received from others who watched the film with me in New Jersey.

KAALA , the latest Superstar Rajinikanth has got the rare distinction of being the least hyped movie with literally, no buzz. Perhaps a follow up to Kabali that did phenomenal business but met with mixed emotions was the reason for many of us including me to wait & see how this unfolds. Still made time to watch this movie on a packed auditorium in NJ.

First things first, yes movie delivers in a color and brilliant way which can be connected to entire India happenings for the past 6 months.

Now another critical question is did Rajini satisfy his fans as well as neutral viewers like me & the answer is, Big Yes- he did without compromising the vision of director, playing his strength by fitting in author backed role with ‘elan.Now trying to dissect the movie , Kaala certainly is not a political propaganda film but deeply touches the oppressed communities daily struggle in 3rd world country like India & how power play denies their basic rights.

For a Rajinikanth movie this is a sweet surprise in terms of casting & strongly written characters especially Stunning performance by Nana Patekar & Eswari Rao.

What worked here : Well written characters, Energetic Rajinikanth, superb mass episodes, especially intermission & brilliant climax episodes are best in recent Indian movies. Cinematography deserves special mention. Another department is the music & sound design which deserves all the awards this year. Exceptional seems to be understatement for what these two crew members Santhosh Narayanan & Anthony J Reuben achieved.

Coming back to strength of the movie with no 2nd thoughts : Rajini is "Brilliant" in his casual yet powerful avatar scoring in every mass scene, more importantly during the rain fight & police station episode. Treat for Rajini fans, a pure nostalgia inducing moments for those 80’s kids. No wonder a few calls him he is the superstar for a reason.and some mentioned he is the black panther of Indian Cinema.

What didn’t work is mostly unsettling initial 20 minutes & relatively slower pace in the 2nd half. Core plot of movie travels on a finely written single thread which at times seems to slow down the pace.

However confrontation scenes between Rajini & Nana makes up for all those little complaints.

I have watched it with an open mind as am not a Rajini fan but most of the families who watched in the same hall, (mostly fans) seemed to left the hall happy. Success of the movie can be gauged from there . With current political situation In the South, KAALA adds a lot of fodder and will be the talking point on the debates. Thanks to Wunderbar, Lyca and MM Media for your support and delivering a better Rajinikanth movie since Robot. My Rating is 3.25/5

Best
- Rajesh S.