Kaala- I wish they made 'Power Paandi 2'



The last time I thoroughly enjoyed Rajini’s elegantly beautiful and graceful dance moves was in ‘Oh oh kicku yerudhey’ in Padaiyappa. In the film Kaala, unsurprisingly similar getting-drunk song ‘Vaadi En thanga selai’ shows how much Rajini enjoy being on screen and truly entertain us as a performer. His cheeky smile, the Gaana beats, the fusion of Hindustani music, the joyful wedding anniversary moment, the love that sparkles in eyes for his wife- Rajini is one of those actors whose 2 dimensions of acting can easily be identified-  someone who is capable of performing or someone who is comfortable performing.  When Rajini becomes this lovable, cheerful husband, father and grandfather, having conversations with his grandkids or chatting with his sons or lovingly annoying his wife, it is a true delight to watch him comfortably perform on screen. I just wished those scenes didn’t end. I just wished those scenes became part of a soul-stirring, warmth-filled simple family drama. Something I wished, the film, Kaala was.

I am still confused and clueless with this film. What was exactly Kaala fighting for? Yes, I know it was the land for Dharavi people. But how did Kaala fight other than stopping and threatening the builders and politicians? There was a scene where the villain, Nana Patekar was blocked by the entire population in Dharavi slums. But a word/nod from Kaala was all that needed for the people to obediently listen and let go of Nana. So such an influential head of the slums, Kaala was, but why wasn’t he shown talking to the real officials, mayor, collector and town council to spearhead a proper legit campaign? Other than sitting at his house verandha and waiting for people to run towards him to inform of the area’s killings and other horrifying news, what other tangible solutions did Kaala execute? Why wasn’t Kaala getting involved in providing concrete suggestions since he is and has all the power?
Is this Kaala or wannabe-politician-Rajinikanth?

One thought that was bugging me throughout the film was ‘Rajini should do Power Paandi 2.’ Rajini, enough of saving slums, the country, the robots, the dam, the castle, the palace, the people or word documents! It’s time to show us what you are comfortable with. Imagine, rajini as power paandi- that adoringly lovable thaata. That cute-looking grandpa who is slightly annoyed with son and at the same time scared of his grown-up son. That thug-looking motor bike rider on a quest to find his first love, Poonthendral. That almost-instantly-turned teenager hiding under a blanket to send a fb msg to his first love. 


I want to see more of Kaala-Selvi loud-love-roaring scenes.

I want to see more of Kaala- Zahreena’s calm-poised-love scenes. 
(Kaala’s meet-up sequence with Zahreena at a rooftop restaurant reminded me of Rajkiran-Revathi scenes from Power Paandi)

From a strong ideologically sensible social activist Pa. Ranjith, I don’t and I can’t expect very simplistic scenes like Rajini walking into an aggressive ball of fire to save people. What is this la? Mocking Theemithi is it? In Kabali, Ranjith tested waters. In Kaala, he is testing oceans. True enough, he has given us some gems like actor manikandhan (son lenin), Anjali Patil (bold and firm activist Puyal) and Iswari (Kaala’s wife selvi). Certainly, Ranjith is going to dive deeper. I hope he does that genuinely the next time and tell us the story that he has been yearning to tell us. Kabali and Kaala aren’t one of those for sure. Ranjith has something deeper and greater to tell us. Bring it on, thalae! Don’t test any waters and oceans and our patience anymore!

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