One of the biggest takeaways from the grand audio launch of Pa Ranjith’s Kaala, held on May 9 at YMCA Grounds in Chennai, was that it will take a while to see Rajinikanth as a politician. “The time hasn’t come yet to make a statement on (my) politics. It will happen when the time is right,” said the 65-year-old star while concluding his speech in which he summed up his career – the lessons he learnt from the success and failures – and refrained from talking about politics.
“Several times in the past 40 years, people wrote me off. Yet I keep going on, with the blessing of God and the people who love me,” he said, touching upon the failures of Kochadaiyaan and Lingaa. “I decided to adapt to the time, and do roles appropriate to my age… I am 65 years old, I shouldn’t be romancing actresses who are half my age,” he said.
Helmed by Pa Ranjith whose Kabali (2016) had brought back an intense side of Rajini which had been absent for quite a long time, Kaala narrates the tale of a gangster in Mumbai’s Dharavi. The film, jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Wunderbar Films, the film has Nana Patekar, Samuthirakkani, Huma Quresh and Eeswari Rao playing pivotal roles. Being the first big event to be held in Chennai post the controversial IPL protest and the film union strike, the audio launch had garnered unprecedented media and public attention.
Clad in a black shirt, the Superstar arrived at the venue shortly after the rest of the cast, crew and guests had taken their seats. He said in his speech that Kaala was a commercial film, made to fit in his image as a superstar performer and Ranjith’s reputation for being an intelligent director with a social responsibility. “Kaala, although it has politics, is not an outright political film,” he said adding that in the past he had rejected a script by Vetrimaaran because it was ‘too political’. He also emphasised that Kaala wasn’t about his entry as a politician, thus subtly rubbishing away the allegations raised by AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar against the politically-loaded lyrics of the film’s songs.
“Everyone cannot be an MGR. Rajinikanth is airing certain views all of a sudden, as though wisdom dawned on him recently,” mocked Jayakumar who termed Kaala‘s songs as provocative.
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While Rajinikanth clearly distanced Kaala from his future in politics, other guests such as Pa Ranjith and actor Dhanush, co-producer of the film gushed about his off-screen persona which is powerful enough to trigger social changes. Ranjith spoke about the intense, humble and sensitive Rajini he has come to know of, while Dhanush said he learned the qualities of patience, earnestness, and forgiveness from the superstar.
“The power of real Rajini (off screen) is many times more than what you see on screen. I have tried to use it as much as possible in Kaala, said Ranjth. “He began his career as a villain, slowly got promoted to a supporting star, a hero – a stylish one – and finally, a Superstar. Today he is our Thalaivar, and what will he be tomorrow? Like everyone, I am also eager to witness that,” said Dhanush in his speech where he took scathing digs at collaborators who back-stabbed Rajini and insulted him.
Kaala is set to hit the screens on June 7.
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Listen to the Kaala songs here: