It is a relief in a way that the most hyped up movie ever in the annals of Indian cinema has hit the screens, People, patrons cineastes and fans can come to their own conclusions on the celluloid offering of the ageing don Kabali and his exploits. The arguments are bound to be voluble with the social media making everyone at least a pesky amateur reviewer. While the producers are busy counting the weekend take, which should launch the film into the book of Indian movie collection records, the jury is still out on what exactly is on offer – a cinematic poem or, probably, just a Rajinikanth entertainer of the potboiler genre.
The Superstar should be back soon to savour his success as they kept saying it didn’t matter how Kabali was received, but it was Rajini who was the winner in a character portrayal closer to his age. While it might have taken a Mani Ratnam to wake the actor in Rajini as he did in Thalapathy, Pa Ranjith may have had him aspiring to a cutting edge don in the school of at least a less sinister but more active Al Pacino, if not quite Marlon Brando in his stentorian-voiced Godfather role, still considered the ultimate in the genre. The Asian setting, however, does change the scene, doesn’t it, even if it is Rajini donning the mantle?
By the way, when he returns from the US to a home triumph, Rajinikanth, one assumes, would be flying in his own name. Let’s not forget that not all were christened with their screen names. For example, take the veteran actor Michael Caine who last week changed his name to: yes, Michael Caine. He found flying in these ISIS-troubled times on a passport bearing his real name – Maurice MIcklewhite - was too hazardous since complications at security checks can be like the Spanish Inquisition these days. It’s an interesting story of how Michael became Caine, which is because he saw his favourite actor Humphrey Bogart’s Cane Mutiny movie poster from out of the telephone booth at the very moment his agent was asking for a good screen name for him.
Michael Caine must be feeling liberated now that he is his screen persona too, at least on his passport. Rajini may have been born Sivajirao Gaekwad but it is a fair guess that by the time he took his first passport he would already have hit the limelight somewhat after Apoorva Ragangal. So no trouble here for the Superstar on his travels. Rajinikanth is Rajinikanth. As one of the few Indian stars who dares to walk around as he is rather than cloaked in his film persona, Rajini has a need to be himself at all times. Just imagine the furor if the US checkpoints were to haul him up for an improbable name on his passport. The anger would be more intense than when we protested the checks on Shah Rukh Khan.
It is not certain I will take the Kabali viewing option anytime soon as it is difficult to fit into the cola-swigging, popcorn crunching generation thronging multiplexes.
The temptation of turning on Netflix to watch the life of a great don of real life recaptured on film is too attractive. Pablo Escobar’s operations as the don of cocaine are too fascinating in their sweep as to be compelling viewing even in a teleserial (Narcos). Here is a man who built an empire so big he even offered at one time to write off Colombia’s national debt of $10 billion provided he could get immunity from extradition to USA. It is utterly disgusting that he killed 4,000 people, including over 1,000 cops.
This tale beats all even in the mighty colourful life of Escobar. His daughter was suffering from likely pneumonia and in order to keep her warm, Pablo burnt dollar bills worth $2 million. But then you can only imagine what the profits were from hallucinogenic paste which may cost $100 to produce but which has a street value of about $1 million. He had so much money to hide that he buried a lot of it, which were probably eaten up by rats. So powerful is human attraction to substances that the perfidies of soul-destroying addiction are ignored, at peoples’ peril of course. Maybe, Kabali 2 will someday take up the storyline. Escobar was the don of dons.
