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Showing posts with the label Kabali

New Releases and OTT

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I saw Kaala feat. Superstar Rajinikanth the third time yesterday (Thursday 21 June) on its 14 th day after release. Was happy to book online and reached KG Cinemas, Coimbatore ahead of schedule time. To my surprise, rather the lack of it, the screen was near empty. One of the oldest and largest Cinema Screens in India with over 800 seats, we were just 50 of us spread across the seating areas. Each of us had an agenda, perhaps. For me, it was noticing a few nuances and the undertones of dialogues, sequences and inner-meaning of the screenplay. Will reserve that for another column since I found a number of interesting perspectives. Kaala will be pulled off screens from today since Tik Tik Tik, a Space Odyssey feat. Jayam Ravi is finally releasing today and a dozen films are lined up for the next 3 months including big ticket releases featuring Ajith, Vijay, Surya and Karthi to name a few. Of course the much awaited Vishwaroopam 2 feat. actor turned politician (sic) Kamal Hassan

Kaala - Film Review

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By now, most people who have been following the film and haven’t watched already know the storyline – Kaala alias Karikaalan is a migrant from South Tamil Nadu who settled in Mumbai a few decades back and helps scores of people settle and survive the tides of the mega city under the supposedly largest slum of Asia, at Dharavi. He is a Robinhood and savior for his people and the life story of the protagonist has its ups and downs. The storyline is just this without any overdose or complication. Previously, a few Tamil films have been made with the “Dharavi” area in the background, notable ones being Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan feat. Kamal Hassan (loosely based on the Western classic “Godfather”) and most recently, Thalaiva feat. Actor Vijay Joseph (Sathyaraj plays Vijay’s father who is also a Don). Kaala is an out and out Pa. Ranjith Film, the lucky Director who gets to work the second time with the Indian Superstar. Their previous outing Kabali in 2016 had a mixed result and a fair

Kabali - Fanboy Moments

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This was one occasion that I have been eagerly looking forward for the past one year or so - To watch FDFS of Thalaivar movie. And it happened. Had the darshan of Thalaivar Superstar Rajnikanth in and as Kabali at 4.10am on Friday, 22 July 2016 at Kasi Theatre Chennai.  Watch my film review to The Hindu at 2.26 in this video  which was taken outside Kasi Theatre on Friday morning. I have seen the film thrice back to back on Fri/Sat/Sun and now content to my heart about the movie, fully satisfied as a fan that Thalaivar has not given us just a movie but something very special.  At 65, him acting and taking so many risks itself is a great deal. And he has given us such a splendid performance. Many fans cried along with him in the scene where he reunites with his wife. Fans celebrated fatherhood when Dhansika calls him "Appa" in a particular scene. You may note that Thalaivar has never had a son in any of his movies, just like his real life, in which he has

Kabali - A Critic's review

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So, finally Kabali has released. It's been over 72 hours as I right this and the euphoria doesn't seem to have faded. And Rajnikanth himself has returned to Chennai on Sunday night (25 July 2016) after his supposed treatment in the US. The film has been much looked forward to by his ardent fans, the Indian Industry at large, the distributors, theatre owners, and even small time printers of flex banners who get a huge business during his movie release. The film released worldwide on Fri. 22 July 2016 with much fanfare. I was among those who had Thalaivar darshan at 4am at Kasi theatre at Chennai. Was super delighted to see him on screen after a gap of two years. People expected to see a different Rajni portrayed in the film, as emphasised by the director of the film, P Ranjith from time to time. And yes, we did see a very different Rajnikanth in the film, something that we haven't seen in over 25-30 years. No over the board antics, no parallel comedy line, no antics like t

Rajni & I - The Lives

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It's by now a known fact to a large section of the world how much of a Rajni fan I am, thanks to an article that appeared in the front page of The Economic Times Newspaper on Saturday, 16 July 2016. Read the online link here . I knew one day my name will appear in The ET but to be featured along with a news about my two favourite passions Rajni and Retail (my startup Oyethere.com is a Hyperlocal Ecommerce Marketplace) was a double whammy. Here is the background - I tried procuring 4 tickets for myself for the opening weekend of Sivaji the movie in 2007 at Bangalore. However, I couldn't. That's when I felt how many people like me would be finding it difficult to watch a Rajnikanth magnum opus in the first week of its release. So, I reached out to INOX multiplex, one of India's largest Cinema Chains and asked them to give me a full Auditorium. Initially, they hesitated for want of any unwanted issues during the screening. I assured them that it would be a fully family s

The Kabali Fever

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Rajini fans worldwide have been looking forward to the release of the much awaited Kabali. After having worked with MS Viswanathan, Illayaraja, Deva and AR Rahman for the past 40 years, Superstar has chosen to work with a guy whose is as young as his own daughter. Rajinikanth's success is partially attributed to his Music Directors as most of his films have atleast 2-3 hit songs which remain etched in memory. After working for over 25 years with Illayaraja, Rajini gave an opportunity to a young lad in 1994 for his Muthu. The lad was just 5 films old then and was recommended to Rajini by one of his favourite directors Mani Ratnam whom Rajini holds in high respect. That lad, who later won the first ever Oscar for India went to create music for the next 15 years for Rajini (except Chandramukhi which was by Vidyasagar). AR Rahman and Rajini have a deep bonding. ARR likes to create mass tunes which are a class apart that suits Rajinikanth's image. Especially over the past 10-12 ye

Celebrating Brand Rajinikanth

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The day of Holi festival is very special to Superstar Rajinikanth, for it was on this day in the year 1975 that he was named so by his guru and ace director Late Shri K. Balachandar. Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was a young lad from suburban Bangalore with high spirits in heart and a hardworking nature. His mother passed away at an early age and his father and elder brother ran the household. He ran errands for people, worked as a coolie, a bus conductor among many things to sustain himself. He had his own vices and needed money for all that. Shivaji also had a deep inclination towards spirituality even when he was young, thanks to his upbringing from Ramakrishna Mission. He performed skits and plays in the neighborhood and that prompted his friends to encourage him to join Cinema – Kannada Actor Rajkumar who was in his prime during the early 70s was a great inspiration for Shivaji. With some money in hand given by his friends, he boarded a bus to reach the erstwhile Madras and join the Film