Kabali
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their
content. You can update or correct this page, and/ or send photographs to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged. |
Contents |
Specifications
Year: 2016
Running time: 2 hr 33 min (153 min)
Languages: Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malay.
Crew
Director, writer: Pa. Ranjith
Producer: Kalaippuli S. Thanu
Choreography: Sathish
Cinematography: G. Murali Vardhan
Cast
Rajinikanth
Winston Chao
Dhansika
Kumudhavalli
Dinesh
Kalaiyarasan
John Vijay
Rosyam Nor
Kishore Kumar G.
Riythvika
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Lyricists:
Uma Devi ...
Kabilan ...
Vivek ...
Arunraja Kamaraj
Playback singers:
Ananthu ...
Gaana Bala ...
Roshan Jamrock ...
Arunraja Kamaraj ...
Pradeep Kumar ...
Lawrence Raghavendra ...
Rajinikanth ...
Shweta Mohan ...
Santhosh Narayanan ...
Orchestras
Bohemia Junction Limited ...
F.A.M.E.'S. Project ...
The film
Jul 20 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)
5 reasons why you should watch Rajinikanth's Kabali
The film was released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malay .
RAJINI ALL THE WAY
In his 164th outing, Rajinikanth plays a retired gangster whose past comes back to haunt him. Since the film is set in the 80s and the present day, the actor sports dif ferent looks.
SUPPORTING CAST
As Kabali's wife Kumudavalli, Radhika Apte impressed the team with her performance. Taiwanese star Winston Chao and Malaysian actor Rosyam Nor play pivotal roles.
MUSIC
There's probably no Thalaiva fan who hasn't dubsmashed to the chartbuster Neruppa Da. A mash-up video featuring characters of Ice Age: Collision Course and scenes from Kabali went viral.
Synopsis
Thinkal Menon, The Times of India + Surabhi Redkar, KoiMoi.com
A gangster in Malaysia goes in search of his family after 25 years of imprisonment
Tamil migrants work in Malaysia in an area that has been captured by drug lords. Kabali aka Kabaleswaran (Rajinikanth) is a worker who lives happily with his wife (Radhika Apte) and daughter (Dhansika).
Kabaleeshwaran aka Kabali (Rajinikanth), who was born somewhere in Dindigul, is the messiah of Tamil labourers who work in Malaysia, after he fights for their primary rights and wages. His rise to an influential person in the society, in a short span of time, is now giving sleepless nights to a few, which further fuels jealousy and enmity towards Kabali. Veera (Kishore) is one among those jealous, and keeps hatching plans to destroy Kabali's gang, and defame him publicly. He convincingly brainwashes an aide of Kabali and successfully turns him against the latter. After a violent gang war, which takes place unexpectedly, Kabali, being convicted of various false charges, ends up in jail.
Released after two-and-a-half decades, Kabali goes in search of his wife Kumudhavalli (Radhika Apte), who was pregnant when destiny separated them. He seeks the help of his old gang, including Ameer (John Vijay), who are more than happy to help him. Jeeva (Dinesh), an overly enthusiastic youngster, too, joins him as a loyal aide. Thamizh Kumaran (Kalaiyarasan), the son of a yesteryear aide of Kabali, who backstabbed the latter, is another person who promises to help the old Kabali, but is confused. Meanwhile, Veera is ruling the roost in the town, with his own empire and Tony (Winston Chao), one of the dreaded gangsters is his business partner. Will Kabali get his wife back? Will he be able to make up the years that he lost in jail?
Reviews
The reviews ranged from below-average to lukewarm
The Hindu
Baradwaj Rangan, The Hindu, July 22, 2016
[No star rating.]
It’s interval and I am scratching my non-existent beard, wondering what about this generic gangster script interested either Ranjith or Rajini.
The directorial confidence we saw in Attakathi and Madras is practically absent.
But looking back, it's not as generic as the first half made it seem. But what works against the film is the near absence of emotional beats, a sense of people to root for, root against.
But yes, it is great to see a dignified Superstar, acting his age. He does more for the movie than the movie does for him.
The Indian Express
Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express This Rajinikanth film is a drag
Stars: 1.5
This was the time when Rajinikanth should have reinvented himself for his directors have long stopped bothering about plot and characterisation. For when Rajinikant is on and at it, who cares?... It was a time to witness just how a huge star who still has presence can be on the cusp of fading. If he’s not careful the next time around.
KoiMoi.com
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Two and half stars)
What’s Bad: The pace of the film is going to be a major issue. A snail-speed screenplay pulls down this film.
The Times of India
Thinkal Menon, The Times of India:
CRITIC'S RATING: 3.0/5
AVG READERS' RATING: 3.6/5
Director Pa Ranjith won appreciation from all quarters for his previous film Madras, His legions of fans were disappointed with his previous outing, Lingaa… As Ranjith isn't a run-of-the-mill director, and is considered as someone whose screenplay and dialogues have hidden meanings, comparisons with his previous films are but in order. In Kabali, one shouldn't expect the freshness in script and making style which his Madras offered. The flashback portions, on occasions, test one's patience, and lack evenness.
Watching Yogi (Dhansikaa) is a delight, given her stylish makeover and ease in fight sequences. The climax of the film, however, is something that one least expects from a Rajini film. Just when viewers erupt with joy, with Thalaivar finishing off the baddies in style, there comes an unconventional twist.
The songs by Santhosh Narayanan are soothing to watch on screen, too. The stunt sequences and shoot-out scenes choreographed by Anbarivu, with Rajini putting his best foot forward, is sure to give adrenaline-rush to his fans, and are, in fact, among the things that work in favour of the film, in addition to an emotional scene. The story, perhaps, needed a tighter screenplay, but watch it for 'Thalaivar athiradi'. Nothing more, nothing less!
Box Office
The sources of this section include:
Indian Express July 22 (evening) and 23, 2016
'Budget
Rs. 100 crore
Pre-release
Theatrical, audio, satellite rights and merchandising earned the film around Rs. 225 crore before its release
Day 0 (Thursday)
USA and Canada: Preview shows in Tamil+Telugu fetched $ 1,925,379 [₹ 12.93 cr], a record for an Indian film.
First day (Friday)
Rajinikanth’s Kabali box office collection day 1: Film makes earth-shattering start The Indian Express reported in the evening on July 22, 2016. ‘Rajinikanth's Kabali has broken records and brought in big bucks’
As mentioned elsewhere on this page, the first shows started around 5am. Kabali was released on more than 12,000 screens across India, and the world, especially the UK and MalaysiaThe first day booking across south India was a sold out and no ticket was to be had for love or money.
First-day domestic ticket sales: Rs 35 crore (estimated) (vs. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo: Rs40.35 crore; Sultan (2016) Rs 36.54 crore)
USA first day: $1,317,288 by 4 pm EST and an estimated $1.45m gross (by late evening). This is the highest for an Indian film. (Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) $ 1,360,201 Telugu + $ 10,850 Tamil + more from the Hindi-Urdu version; total US first day collection= $1,382,076 . Sultan (2016) brought in $786,194.
International markets
The box office rank of the Tamil and Telugu versions of Kabali, together, was
Days 0 and 1
Malaysia: No 1 [Thu+Fri]
USA-Canada: No 3 [Thu previews]
UK: No 10 [Thu+Fri]
Pre-release craze: from Dubai to India and Malaysia
Jul 19 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)
The lyrics to the `Kabali' song `Neruppu da' (`I am fire da') couldn't have said it better. As the countdown to the film’s release began, Kabali fever started spreading like wildfire across Chennai, taking on several avatars from puppy love to a flight of fancy , a gastro gobble to a television deluge. [And all this despite the lukewarm reception of the Thalaivar’s last few films.]
Chennaiite G Shiva, 25, an ardent Rajinikanth fan, has kickstarted proceedings in his house by naming his little pup Kabali.
AirAsia India, the official airline partner of Kabali, came out with a new rebranded aircraft with a livery dedicated to the Rajinikanth-starrer, while Airtel announced spe cial packages to promote the film. Closer to the road, autorickshaws started embellishing themselves with Rajini posters, some offering free rides to fans who wanted to get to the theatre on time.
At Grand by GRT Hotels in Chennai, self-confessed Rajini fan Vikram Cotah came up with an innovative gastronomic experience. The Rajini movie ` Aadu Puli Attam' has inspired a seafood and paya (goat trotters) dish. “The literal translation of `aadu' means goat, `puli' is tiger and `attam' is play; so we have a dish that is a play between tiger prawns and goat paya, served with ragi idiappam,“ says Cotah, the company's COO. TV channels down south started airing special `All about Kabali' promos and bulletins analysing and sensationalising every teeney aspect of the making of the film.
Hardcore Rajini fans boked plane tickets in order for the big day . Bharath Aravamudhan, a vice-president at a bank in Dubai, made sure he was in Chennai with friends for the first [4 am] show of Kabali.
NOVEL PROMOTIONS
While Rajini's murals on walls and buses have become a common sight. Merchandises featuring the superstar, including laptop covers and mobile pouches, have also become a craze.
July 22 2016 (day of release)
Fans have been conducting pujas and milk baths since dawn before queueing up to catch the first show of their favourite star's film.
Even a fake review went viral Such was the frenzy that fan Balaji Srinivasan admitted on Facebook to having "posted a made-up review [two days before the film's release], without actually seeing the film. It was all in jest. In less than 24 hours, looks like it has gone viral." It did,and became a news item in the media.
Aeroplanes, cars and fans’ bodies are painted Kabali
The Times of India Ganesh Kumar Radha Udayakumar | Jul 22, 2016
A fan with his body painted with an image of Rajinikanth outside a movie theatre showing Kabali in Bengaluru.
His family has three generations of ardent Rajini fans, and his brother and uncle spent an entire week preparing for the July 22 release. In addition to making t-shirts and posters, the family has organized two release-date events: a temple yagna overnight and fireworks on the morning of the film's release.
Rukender also gave his car a complete makeover in honor of Rajini.
"The car was inspired by the AirAsia flight," he says. He's referring to the film's advertising partner, which plans to fly 165 fans to Chennai from Bengaluru in a plane painted with image of Rajini's character Kabali. Once the fans get to Chennai airport they will be ferried in coaches to one of Chennai's best-known movie theatres: Sathyam Cinemas.
These fans - who will be flown back on the same day - have shelled out Rs. 7,680 each for this experience. Tickets sold out in two hours, AirAsia said.
The fans will be treated to two special 'Kabali meals' on the flights. What's on the menu? "We haven't given that out yet. It's the only surprise left", the airline's spokesperson said.
While these Bengaluru fans paid in excess of Rs 7,000 to see the movie, other fans paid a similar amount for a 'Kabali poster makeover' so they could look like Rajini's character in the film.
Award-winning photographer Santosh Raj has been inundated with requests for such makeovers for the last three days.
On Sunday, Santhosh - owner of the Chennai-based studio FotoZone - posted photos on Facebook of his friend Srinivas as Kabali. Srinivas is president of the Krishnagiri district Rajini Fans' Association. Santosh wanted to show "the common man as the Superstar" and completely transformed his friend for the photo.
The images went viral. Despite being inundated with requests for similar makeovers, Santosh was only able to do a makeover on eight fans. "It takes four hours for us to go from make-up to post-production of the photo," he says.
Other fans use the occasion of a Rajini release to do social work and the same is true this time, too.
The fan group Rajini - Biggest Superstar of India (RBSI), for example, will distribute approximately 150 industrial helmets and welding glasses to workers who don't have such equipment, its spokesman told TOI. In addition, it will drive a group of orphans and old age home residents to a special screening of the movie.
The group organized a flash-mob at Jazz Cinemas, its theatre partner. It also teamed with a well-known dance-troupe Loyola Dream Team to raise awareness about piracy.
That Rajini's fans started paying these tributes to him before a single review was published is a testament to the actor's hold on his fans' imaginations. His on-screen characters have inspired memorable sayings and jokes.
Ramesh Srivats, an entrepreneur who has become something of a social media celebrity, had a "Rajini joke" to share ahead of Kabali preview shows. His Kabali joke:
Ramesh Srivats@rameshsrivats
Today will be the preview shows for Kabali.
After which Rajinikanth will give ratings to all film critics.
See also...
...the profiles of all important actresses currently active in South Indian cinema, either by entering their names in the Search rectangle (top right) or by clicking the Cinema-TV-Pop link below.
See also the pages on
...for a detailed storyline, updated box office performance, critical reception, pre-release details and 18 images/ photographs/ stills from all songs of Lingaa.
Kabali
