Movie Review: KABALI
Story:
The Kabali movie deals with the plight of migrant Indian
community, specifically the Tamilians, who lived in Malaysia. About 30 years
back in time, many of the Indian laborers working in Malaysia, used to work as
drug traffickers and goons under Chinese mafia gangs. One man, Kabaleeswaran
alias Kabali (Rajanikanth), takes a stand for the betterment of his community.
Himself a gang member working under gangster Sitaramaraj (Naazar), Kabali takes
over the gang leadership on Sitaramaraj’s untimely death. With the gang
leadership, also come the rival gang confrontations especially with Gang43 lead
by the ruthless drug lord Tony Woo (Winston Chao). In his position as a gang
leader Kabali also aids his community. He founded the Free Life Foundation, a
non-profit organization to help poor uneducated Indian laborers in Malaysia.
However, the violence of heading a gang takes its toll on Kabali’s family life,
weaving into the movie a family element with the pursuit of Kabali’s wife. The
rest of the movie comprises of Kabali and Gang43 trying to overpower each
other.
Analysis:
Talaivar fans and
general audience alike, will be wowed by the mesmerizing first fifteen minutes.
However, as the narration switches to the core story, the movie suffers a slow
pace in the screenplay. The highly popular teaser ‘Kabaaali … Da…’ has set the
audience to expect a larger than life heroism spearheaded by a revolutionary
Talaivar. However, the director sticks the script and takes his time to narrate
the story – something that might not sit well with today’s fast tracked
generation. Extra care was taken to portray the life of an immigrant Indian
community in Malaysia in the 1980s. The mafia world and their operations
are picturized well.
The family thread between Kabali and his wife acts as a speed
breaker (to an already slow paced narration) and might just not appeal to the
audience. Amazing interval block with unexpected action scenes will thrill the
audience. All in all, a satisfying first half. The masses might find it
difficult to comprehend the struggles of an overseas blue collar worker. Adding
to it, expect for the key roles, the supporting cast are Malaysians and
Chinese. The story, the backdrop and the characters make it difficult for the
common audience to connect with the movie. This might be a bigger problem with
the Telugu dubbed version than with the original and might impact box office
prospects.
The second half starts off with Kabali leaving to India
looking for his wife. Cue in thirty minutes of boring scenes which do nothing
to help the film. The narration accelerates with Kabali’s return to Malaysia as
he takes on Gang43. The well-executed pre-climax and the climax action episodes
in which Kabali kills Tony Woo will have your heart beats soaring. The
cinematography by G.Murali is world class. He captured the elegance of the
Malaysia skyscrapers and ruggedness of mafia locales very well. Santosh
Narayanan’s background score is another asset to this movie. Radhika Apte is
ill suited for the Kabali’s wife’s role, it failed to get the emotions flowing.
Dhanshika who played Kabali’s daughter role is better.
Songs:
The background theme “Nippu Raa…Neruppu Daa.. ” and the
introduction song “Okkade Okkadokkade…“are awesome on screen. Other songs,
mostly pathos, are not appealing. Anyways, this is not a movie that banks much
on its songs.
Positives:
- · SUPERSTAR RAJANIKANTH – After a series of mediocre films, Superstar Rajani strikes back with a stellar performance in Kabali.
- · Leaving behind the over the top mannerisms, the Superstar brings in his magnanimous style in its full glory and his screen presence fills the screen with energy.
- · Outstanding cinematography with slick visuals of Malaysia backdrop. Introduction, interval and climax scenes
Negatives:
·
Not many commercial elements Nativity issue for
Telugu Audience
Verdict:
Kabali is a movie that launched with extremely high expectations
. The movie will open to mixed talk on the first day. We will need to wait to
how it fares on the second day and going forward. Tamil version may fare better
than Telugu. Watch with no regret and enjoy watching the ultimate star of our
era – The Superstar Rajinikanth’s one man show Kabali !
Disclaimer : This Review is An Opinion of Review Writer. Please Do Not Judge The Movie Based On This Review And Watch Movie in Theater
0 Comments