It's Kaala time at last!

Everybody waiting for Rajinikanth’s Kaala,” Supreme Court judges AK Goel and Ashok Bhushan, who were sitting on a vacation bench, said while refusing to stall the release of the film today (June 7). In his plea, KS Rajasekharan had sought an injunction on the film based on his claim that his copyright-protected work relating to story scenes and songs were used by the producer without prior permission.

The response in advance to the movie Kaala, releasing in well over 1,800 screens worldwide on Thursday, has, however, been lukewarm. The usual hype about a Rajini movie is just not there even in Chennai, the hotbed of Rajini fan clubs. The advance bookings do not also indicate the usual fervour over a new film featuring Thalaivar. Industry sources believe there are a number of reasons for this, including Rajini’s political stand on the Protesters of the Sterlite stir. And then there is the repetitiveness to his ‘Don’ films, his previous one having been Kabali.

Kaala is, however, the first film releasing world over after Superstar Rajinikanth officially jumped into political arena. Much fanfare and buzz about the movie was anticipated from Thalaivar’s fans. Reportedly, there is an unusual trend for a Superstar movie that tickets have been sold out only for the first two days and are freely available for the weekend in multiplexes and theatres across TN.  

A big multiplex owner in the neighbourhood of Chennai says, “We are releasing Kaala in our complex. The opening and the subsequent day are sold out. But tickets for the weekend are available, which is quite unprecedented for a Rajini sir movie. This may also be due to fact that Kaala is releasing on Thursday , instead of the norm of Friday  for a new film, which people are not familiar with.”

Kaala, to quote Rajinikanth, has politics in it but it’s not a political film. From the teasers and promos it is clear there will be any number of moments with Rajini  speaking politically-loaded punch lines.  The Superstar himself said at a recent promo meet that he did not wish to speak much about the film and that the film would speak for itself.

In fact, due to the Sterlite issue, he even cancelled promo activities scheduled in the city as well as in Mumbi.  Even so, the josh seems to be missing. Perhaps due to the fact that this is the second consecutive movie with Pa. Ranjith - Kabali where Rajini played a gangster from Malaysia striving for the downtrodden and here in Kaala, it has a setting where Superstar is a gangster from Mumbai Dharavi area. Also, Santhosh Narayanan’s Kabali music might have set the floor on fire, but the same cannot be said for the Kaalaalbum.  Dhansh revealed recently that in Kaala, Thalaivar has gone to ‘Thara’ local level, ‘Irangi Senjrukkar’, Karikaalan (Rajini) will be lapped up by his fans in a
mass way.