Kaala (2018)

Original title

காலா

Directed by

Pa Ranjith

Genre

action film, crime film

Country

India

Runtime

2h 46m

Rated

12

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 71 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A leader in a Mumbai slum fights to protect his community from a corrupt minister who wants to seize their land and force them out. He uses his influence and determination to stand up against powerful forces.

defiantgrittyurgentemotionally chargedaction-packedunderdogpoliticalresolute

What happens

Kaala (also marketed as Kaala Karikalan; transl. Black) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed and co-written by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Dhanush and Subaskaran Allirajah under the banners of Wunderbar Films and Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, alongside Nana Patekar, Eswari Rao, Huma Qureshi (in her Tamil debut), Samuthirakani, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, K. Manikandan, Dileepan, Nitish Veera, Sampath Raj and Ravi Kale. The film follows Karikalan "Kaala", the leader of Dharavi, who tries to save his land from getting seized and his people from being evicted by Haridev, a ruthless minister. The film was officially announced in June 2016 under the tentative title Thalaivar 164, as it is Rajinikanth's 164th film as the lead actor, and the official title was announced in May 2017. Principal photography commenced the same month. It was predominantly shot in Mumbai; however, due to a few difficulties, the team had to shoot at Chennai a few times, and wrapped by mid-October. The film has music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Murali G. and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. Kaala was scheduled to release on 27 April 2018 in theatres but was postponed due to the conflict between Nadigar Sangam and Digital Service Providers. The film premiered on 6 June 2018 in Malaysia, with the worldwide release on the following day, coinciding the week of Eid al-Fitr, to mixed reviews from critics who praised the cast performances (especially Rajini), action sequences and soundtrack, but the screenwriting and pace received criticism. The film grossed ₹160 crore and was average at the box office. In 2024, Kaala was listed in the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine's '25 Films of the 21st century,' making it the only Indian film to be included. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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