In an interview with Vikatan, Pa Ranjith says Rajinikanth chose to work with him because he wanted to give his image a makeover. The news that Pa Ranjith, with only two films under his belt, was going to direct the next Rajinikanth film, had raised many eyebrows among fans and artists in Kollywood. Ranjith’s raw and edgy style seemed out of sync with Rajinikanth’s mass-image movies. However, Ranjith had a different take on this:
“After the release of Madras, I had been working on a script for Suriya, and that is when Soundarya Rajinikanth first got in touch with me. She said that Rajinikanth has been thinking about his next film, and had mentioned my name as well. She asked me if I had a script in mind that might suit him. A few days later, I told her a little about two stories I had in mind. Rajini sir was impressed with one of them, and asked me to develop it further.
“Later, I visited Rajini sir to narrate the script to him. He seemed to like the story and we discussed a few scenes in detail. But then, I didn’t hear from him for a while after that, and with the reports of other directors being in the fray to work on his next film, I had lost all hope. Then, out of the blue, I got a call from Soundarya, asking me to meet Rajini sir immediately. When I met him, he took my hand and said, “Super kanna, you are the director of my film. Thanu will be producing it”. I was spellbound.”
Although overwhelmed, Ranjith says Rajini gave him a free hand with the film: “Rajini gave me complete freedom in choosing my team. He said he wouldn’t interfere, except to make suggestions when he had an idea. He said that it wasn’t necessary to cast popular actors. He even said he wasn’t a great actor himself. Such words made me really wonder – how could a star of his magnitude be so grounded and humble?”
Recommended
The supporting cast for Kabali includes Radhika Apte, Prakash Raj, Kalaiyarasan, Dhansika, and Attakathi Dinesh. Kabali will be produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu, and will see the return of the Madras technical team, with music director Santhosh Narayanan, editor Praveen KL and cinematographer Murali G. Kabilan. Umadevi and Gaana Baala have written the lyrics for the film’s music. The team will begin a 60-day shooting schedule on September 17 in in Malaysia, followed by other locations in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Chennai.