except rajani sir n his daughtet ,al gone wrong

So finally after a lot of struggles, I got to watch KABALI in Hindi. It really doesn't give the feel of a dubbed film. It's made very well with all titles in Hindi giving a feel of an original Hindi film. The title KABALI itself is very interesting. This is after a long time you get to see Rajinikanth in a different and offbeat film plus role. It's not fully his regular stuff, but is filled with enough masala of his kind to entertain one and all, and of course, the fans.

The most talked about film of the year, KABALI has everything going in favour of it. Good acting, visuals, action, cinematography, music, story and screenplay and what not. Everything is perfect in this film. It's a clean family entertainer too. Rajinikanth is nothing short of a superhero in KABALI. His performance is top notch. Dinesh, Dhansika, Radhika Apte etc all are first rate when it comes to their acts. Other actors also impress.

The music is good and doesn't look like dubbed. The cinematography and locations are just so excellent that they can't be described in words. The action is a major highlight of the film and is excellent. The story is also good and direction by Pa Ranjith impresses big time.

Overall, KABALI is a different Rajini film but has loads of entertainment. Don't miss this Superhero (KABALI is a new addition to Indian superheroes) flick! A must watch!

After months of impatient waiting, Thalaiva is here with "Kabali" hitting the screens all over the world this weekend. Such has been the impact of the brilliant trailer & promotional events, that the excitement had literally hit sky high (thanks to Air Asia). So delirious has been the response of the public that some companies even decided to give holiday for their employees to check out the movie. The question now is whether this unprecedented hype has hurt the prospects of the flick or can the Superstar satiate the lofty expectations of his fans???

The film unfolds in Malaysia where Kabali (Rajini) was released from jail after having served 25 years of imprisonment for a falsely framed crime that took the life of many including his wife. He had initially made his mark as a leader of the Malaysian Tamil community before he became the trusted lieutenant of the gangster Tamilnesan (Nasser) who was assassinated by rivals such as Tony Lee (Winston Chao), Veera (Kishore) & Co. This saw Kabali ascend to the position of power much to the displeasure of the others who hatched the plan to have him jailed. Even after release, his enemies were relentless in their efforts to see the end of him that they hired assassins but to no avail. So does the ageing don have it in him to exact revenge on his foes???

One of the most promising directors that has emerged from the Tamil industry in recent times is Pa Ranjith who displayed his talent with movies like "Attakathi" & "Madras". So when "Kabali" was announced, it was believed to be a marriage between mass & class. However, the fact is the movie came short on both accounts. It definitely had the scope to become more meaningful considering the backdrop of the story such as injustice to the Tamil community, mafia etc. But it seemed the writer in Ranjith was content to just touch the emotional cord & skim over the rest which virtually proved to be the bane of the movie. I love to watch Rajani in a character backed role but not at the cost of his aura which includes his swagger, punch dialogues etc. The only sequences that we get goosebumps in the whole movie is pretty much shown in the trailer as the wait for a cracking climax proved to be futile. In the technical department, Santhosh Narayanan needs to be applauded for his impressive music & impactful BGM. Murali has done a decent job with the visuals while Praveen K L ought to have been better with his editing.

The superstar has done justice to his role with his screen presence & acting skills (which other directors rarely make him do) as he was impressive in the emotional scenes. He is the backbone of the movie & does his best to resurrect it even when it meanders along at a lethargic pace. Radhika Apte barely got adequate screen space but still manages to showcase her talent. Dhansika rocked as Yogi while Kishore and Dinesh Ravi did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Rajani movies are expected to deliver earth shattering initials & this time around, thanks to the awesome trailer it would surely break all the records. However, the lack of a captivating storyline along with a toned down mass formula will not appeal to many of the audience. But if you would ask me, watch it for Rajani provided you dont have much expectations!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kabali is the much awaited film of the superstar of our country Rajnikanth, directed by PA. Ranjith. It is even a futile attempt on my part to review films of living legend like Rajnikanth. Everytime, when Rajnikanth aka Talaivaar’s film releases, it is a celebration time for the viewers. And this time, Rajnikanth-Kabali-mania went up to the extent of states declaring holiday on its 1st day of release, scheduling early morning shows like 4.30AM also in the list. As per a joke circulating in the social media, it is true that when Rajnikanth’s film is released, holiday is declared. I really don’t want to review this film which is going to be recorded in the history of Indian Cinema for the kind of hype and hysteria it created much before its release.

Having said all these, I would like to convey through this piece of writing that Kabali is a very mediocre film. Many of you might feel that I am not doing justice to a film of Rajnikanth by calling it a mediocre film. How a film with an artist of such caliber can be a mediocre film? But as I have always maintained, my film reviews are absolutely my personal opinion about how a particular film came across to me. The plot had the potential, but it actually didn’t work at all. It is also said that Rajnikanth’s character Kabali is inspired from a real time don of Chennai. I strongly feel that Kabali lacks Rajnikanth elements.

The film begins with high profile police officers of Malaysia discussing the pros and cons of releasing Kabali. Ultimately, decision is taken to release Kabali. After 25 years of imprisonment in Malaysian jail, Kabali (Rajnikanth) is released who was convicted for being an initiator of a massacre that killed many including his pregnant wife Rupa (Radhika Apte). Ameer (John Vijay) is the right hand of Kabali, who arranges a grand welcome for Kabali. Once released from the jail, Kabali goes to visit his charitable school Free Life foundation, which is basically a rehabilitation center for kids, teens, youth who got involved in some criminal activities. Kabali has no qualms in accepting that he is a Gunda, although an educated one. Jeeva (Dinesh Ravi) joins Kabali as his aide. Tony Lee (Winston Chao) and Veera (Kishore) are constantly in look out for Kabali, and they do damage lot of business of Kabali. Tony Lee, a Chinese person, runs lot of rackets that of drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling etc.

When the story move to the flashback, one gets to understand that how Kabali, grandson of a poor migrant labourer, grows to be the leader of a gang by fighting for the rights of Indian workers working in Malaysia. The demand was to get equal rights for the marginalized Indian workers with the locals and Chinese people working there. Kabali was always well-dressed in suits, he took pride of the same, and it was all about creating an impact. He even conveys a dialogue that there was a reason Babasaheb Ambedkar always wore a suit and Mahatma Gandhi never did.

As he grew to the leadership position, he developed many enemies also in and around him and became victim to one such conspiracy, where mass killings happened and he was jailed for being accountable for the same. And now, released after a period of 25 years, he does intend to take revenge. But his enemies Tony Lee and Kishore plant Yogi (Dhansika) to kill Kabali.

Film moves ahead with a very much predictable and clichéd plot. Rather the film is in fragments, and does not generate any pathos at all. What happens to the revenge saga of Kabali? What all challenges Tony Lee and Kishore throw in front of Kabali? What shape does the inter-gang rivalry take? Does the film is dominated with just the gun shots? Does Yogi become successful in killing Kabali?

Kabali film as such has lot of challenges, it never picks up, be it its story, screenplay, dialogues, music, logical sequencing of events, editing etc. I watched Hindi version, so, I have no idea, whether the dialogues lost its essence while translating from Tamil to Hindi. Very poorly written dialogues. Somehow, Kabali is not a Rajanikanth film at all. Radhika Apte’s presence is indeed noticeable. Rest of the cast are loud, weird at times.

Kabali just falls flat. As a fan of Rajnikanth, I never wanted Kabali to fail, but with great pain and disappointment, I have to ignore the incredible screen presence of Rajnikanth and the beautiful frame of Radhika Apte. I choose to rate Kabali as an average film.