Kabali

Plot synopsis:
A Kuala Lumpur–based don Kabaleeswaran alias Kabali (Rajinikanth) is released after spending 25 years in prison on a false charge of starting a massacre at a local Hindu temple that killed many, including his wife Kumudhavalli alias Kumudha (Radhika Apte). He immediately resumes charge of his old gang and soon confronts Loganathan alias Loga (Mime Gopi), a drug smuggler. Loga insults Kumudha, saying that she would have been sold into prostitution had she been alive. In retaliation, Kabali rams his car into Loga, killing him; however, the incident makes him believe that his wife may be still alive. Later, Kabali survives an assassination attempt by Tamizh Kumaran alias Kumaran (Kalaiyarasan), whose father Tamilmaaran (Charles Vinoth) was killed by Kabali when Kumaran was a young boy. The next day, at a function organised by the Free Life Foundation School, a school started by Kabali's friend Ameer (John Vijay) to reform youngsters involved in criminal activities, Kabali talks about his past.
Kabali was the protege of Tamilmaaran's father Tamilnesan (Nassar), a don who fought for the rights of the Tamil Malaysians. Tamilnesan was killed by Veerasekaran alias Veera (Kishore), who was also a part of Tamilnesan's gang, but disliked his rules such as not involving in illegal activities like drug smuggling and prostitution. Following Tamilnesan's death, Kabali took charge of Tamilnesan's gang. But Veera manipulated Tamilmaaran by telling him that he, being Tamilnesan's son, should lead the gang and not Kabali. Tamilmaaran invited Kabali and a pregnant Kumudha for a temple function. However, this was revealed to be a trap as Veera and his men confronted Kabali and Kumudha at the function. In the ensuing scuffle, Kabali was brutally attacked while Kumudha was shot and seemingly killed. Kabali then killed Tamilmaaran for his betrayal in front of a young Kumaran and was soon arrested on a false charge of instigating the massacre.
Kumaran, after hearing Kabali's speech, realises his mistake and apologises to him. He tells him that Velu (R. Amarendran), one of Veera's henchmen who was present at the temple massacre, is aware of what happened to Kumudha. Kabali then leaves for Thailand, where Velu is residing. On confronting Velu, he learns that his daughter is still alive. At this juncture, Kabali is confronted by Yogi (Dhansika), a contract killer hired by Veera and his boss Tony Lee alias Tony (Winston Chao), who heads the rival Gang 43 in Kuala Lumpur, to eliminate Kabali. But Yogi instead kills the men who had come with her and reveals herself to Kabali as his daughter, who had been raised by Velu. She also tells him that Kumudha is still alive and is living with a French family in Puducherry. Kabali and Yogi then leave for Puducherry, where, after several days of searching, they reunite with Kumudha and spend a few days with her there. While in Puducherry, Kabali and his family are attacked by men sent by Tony. However, Kabali and Yogi fight them off and escape safely with Kumudha.
Kabali and his family soon return to Kuala Lumpur, where he is told that Ameer has been severely injured in a car accident set up by Tony; his henchman Jeeva (Dinesh) was brutally chopped to pieces by Tony after refusing to join the Gang 43; and the Gang 43 had destroyed the Free Life Foundation School and started to control the Kuala Lumpur underworld, eliminating any gang who dared to oppose them. On hearing all this, Kabali decides to finish Veera and Tony once and for all. He and his family attend the 100th birthday party for a respected Malaysian don Ang Lee, who had invited all gangs, including the Gang 43. At the party, Kabali starts a shootout with the help of Kumaran, which ends with him killing Veera and Tony.
Some months later, Kabali, Kumudha and Yogi attend a function organised by the Free Life Foundation. One of the Free Life alumni, a youngster name Tiger (Hari Krishnan), who is known to be aggressive and reckless, walks up to Kabali, with scenes showing him speaking to the police prior to the function. The screen cuts to black, and the sound of a gun clicking and a gunshot afterwards is heard.

Tags: revenge, murder, flashback

Review:
Its Awesome!!!Makeup Artist has done a great job.Dunno why people said its draggy, which I totally dint feel.Watch the movie and come to a conclusion, don't listen to what people say( Includes my opinion too).Please do not read reviews and go with the same expectation because people have different tastes.I personally liked every bit of it.Overall a nice move.
Radhika Apte as Kabali's wife has done a decent job but one cannot expect her to save a plot so weak that even the great superstar Rajini couldn't infuse life into.
So I went to the theatre with minimum expectations on the story and logic, but I did expect it to be an out and out Rajni film.Watching Kabali for me was an inner struggle between the fan in me and the critic.
But the film takes a diversion as Kabali sets to find his wife (very neatly played by Radhika Apte) along with his daughter (a tomboy character played by Dhansika through which director wants to show that he is all in for equal opportunities).
The regular movie-goers would have seen Rajinikanth in different kinds of films, but what is special about Kabali is his collaboration with a two- film-old young director Ranjith which has played a big part in the curiosity levels of the audience.
Ranjith has used Rajini's swagger to his advantage, albeit at a different pace.There are hardly any scenes that pass which do not involve Rajinikanth in it but Ranjith has made sure that he has put all his acting resources to good effect.
Usually, when a new director works with a big star like Rajinikanth, they tend to adjust the flow of the film for the hero's stardom but Ranjith has extracted what he wanted for his script without compromising much.Verdict: Rajinikanth in a different dimension, but Kabali might not work for everyone.
Set predominantly in Malaysia, the movie is adrenaline pumping action scenes with enough emotional elements, quite like in any Ranjith film.
With a super screen presence of Rajinikanth and effective handling of the theme by Ranjith, Kabali ends up as one of the best films from superstar's hut.
Kabali (played by Rajanikanth), his wife (played by Radhika Apte), and several other Indian and Tamil characters in the film are supposed to be new generation Indians/Tamils in Malaysia whose ancestors were taken to the Malaya peninsula from the India as workers in plantations run by the British.
Sad...Really Sad. I really don't know what to say about this movie, me being a fan of Rajani sir..it is a total disaster, I don't know what the director was thinking and how he convinced Talaivar to do this particular film.Absolutely no story line which is gripping, there is no concept of old wine in a new bottle..he (director) just messed up with so many people's expectations and emotionsone should not toy with people like this.The movie is so cheap looking just like a B grade movie (I would say C grade but I could not because of Rajanikanth)There are no actors in the movie other than Thalivar himself and except glimpses of Nasser and Radhika Apte.rest all are like rode side beggars picked from side walkI cant even say over they overacted they don't know how to actit is so degrading of Rajani sir in this movie.How can someone make a mess out of Rajani sir's dates and call sheets.it takes special talent to do something like this.and this director did best of itby far the WORST film Rajani sir did..if I start what is worst in the film it is an endless list.I couldn't find anything good other than Thalivar in this movie.Even Rajaini sir also should take some special care on his films from now on.there were companies which declared holiday on the release day..no other actor or star has that status todayhe also have to take some responsibility.
It is sure that women will be willing to watch kabali on screen despite a gangster movie is a success for both the superstar and director..
Rajini sir acting is one of the major plus point of the movie, his simplicity, mannerism and stand back in few scenes n giving opportunity to other actors r worthwhile to mention.
PA.Ranjith should have made little more concentration on the screenplay and a bit on rajinism to satisfy rajini fans.Though movie may not offer rajinism at the whole,one can keep a little less expectation and enjoy this wonderful emotional life of kabaleeshwaran AKA kabali..
There's not much that you can appreciate except for Rajinikant ,who still can act at this kind of an age .The Story is Pretty Cliché', the movie Is nothing special not anything new it's an old , nothing new , same formula which has been tried tested and failed , the film has style , but not enough to save it from its lacking story , and overall interest.
Rajni Used to be a Great Star, Robot was a good Movie, Then Lingaa and Kabali, these are typical movies with flare of Rajni actions and style.It has no story line, poor direction, cheap CGI and VFX, Not worth watching, Now a Days Rajni Movies are all about Marketing Hype then Stories, Its a Bad Movie, Boring also and Mainly for Southern Indian Setting, Such Movies only represent Regional Cinema in more hypocritical manner and are made only with view to make commercial cinema, I think Hindi Movies, Marathi and Gujarati movies has much more depth and are more directed towards audience who values good cinema, Kabali, is a mixed and confused efforts to make a mix of gangster, melodramatic, family and crime movie, with tadka of Rajni, and in turn it becomes toxic mixture of boring monolithic cinematic effort, Over all good marketing effort but poor movie,Avoid at all cost, don't stand in queue for this, you will find more peace in Ekta Kapoor Daily Soaps.
From 70's to now he is the biggest star of Indian cinema.No wonder Kabali is a complete Rajinikanth's film and like 99% time, he appeared the central person of his screen presence.
The movie is a subtly nuanced low- brow drama for most part before the interval, post which we are handed out some bloated gangster scenarios and sheer bloodbath.What I liked most about Kabali is the fact that Rajni, for a good part of the run-time, held the elegant demeanor of a normal family- man (husband, father) and Pa Ranjith needs to be given a pat on his back for reminding us of the'actor' Rajni we'd been missing out all this while.
Agree the film would look more docu-dramaish than it already is, but at least it would've been a movie that drove home a solid point.In this case, the viewer just GETS TO KNOW that Ranjith had a REAL STORY to tell, but lost focus since he had to cater to SuperStar's massive fan-base and ultimately ended up fully satisfying neither the fan nor the general viewer.
At best, Kabali is a one-time watch for Rajni's on-screen charisma and Radhika Apte's womanly charm.Handed out lavish budgets and big stars to work with, quite a few small-time Tamil directors seem to have experienced setbacks in their recent ventures.
Kabali is a very good entertainer for Rajni fans, it's a movie with bounded script,Rajni has opted a character for his present age, BGM of movie sound well at many places, camera works were good, except the wide angle shots, screenplay needs some more clarity, rerecording is decent,but songs were the draw back for the movie, it reduces the speed of movie, some songs consist of good lyrics which did not sync with music ,the presentation of Nerupu da song was awesome, all the characters in the movie performed well to their roles, the passions between a husband & wife, father & daughter who meet after a long duration was well expressed, but the same was not expressed between mother & daughter, on an overall kabali is a movie which exhibits Rajnikanth's Acting..
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.
The climax shocks all as it turns out to be one of the weakest with no conclusive ending.Film lacks commercial elements and there is no humour and romance in the film.Viewers get to see Kabali power only in couple of scenes as Ranjith failed to elevate the conflicts between Rajini and Winston Chao the villain in a more powerful manner.
My expectations were meant.What many people failed to realize was that the director, Pa Ranjith, constantly repeated ,whenever he had a chance, that this is not going to be a Rajni film before the release of the movie.
Other actors- The movie had consistently good acting throughout ranging from the excellent part done by Radhika Apte to pulling off a gangster look and feel from Dhansika and the comedy relief provided by Dinesh, the movie had consistent acting throughout.3.Commercial elements - To satisfy the audience the director had a great intro scene ( probably the best intro since Sivaji), a good action scene following the intro scene , the "mass scene" where Rajni rams the car and the climatic fight, were planted throughout the movie.4.
Not thinking about its BO collection and seeing it separately as a movie,this is probably the most realistic Rajinikanth aka Thalaivar movie we fans can get.Also the fact that it addresses multiple issues in the film,the film may feel slow at time and also with the high melodrama thrown in,but this movie breaks the notion of types Thalaivar has been doing,the same charisma is reflected in his solid acting,carrying the movie on his shoulders.The supporting cast is good,the music and bgm are also terrific.This the most down to Earh mass role Thalaivar has done.A different moviewatching experience,sometimes we feel we move along with the leads.On the whole a different Rajni movie!!!.
Some reviews said that movie is slowly paced and this is not close to reality, but the slow pace is because it is needed for the narration of the story, and if you are too close to reality the viwers may feel that they are watching a documentary...Sleek editing, Camera work, Music score, lightings, Action choreography were top notch...The Climax is predictable some say , yes its predictable, because everyone wanted that kind of climax in their mind so obviously its predictable.I loved this movie.
'Kabali' turned out to be a phenomenon across the globe prior to its release,being the most hyped film from India in recent times featuring Thalaivar Rajnikanth in a gangster avatar that was expected to be a treat for the fans of the veteran superstar in particular with sequences reminding his yesteryear blockbusters.The movie reached theaters amidst sky-high expectations in a massive count of 300 screens across Kerala,thanks to the combined effort from S.Thanu and Ashirwad Cinemas.If someone ask me a one word review for the movie,my immediate answer will be 'Disappointing'.Nothing surprising as the scenario isn't new to Kollywood where the major share of well-anticipated movies,particularly in this decade has failed to generate a satisfactory response from the common audience and the critics alike.In simple words,the mass hype generated was too much for a half-baked emotional thriller like Kabali that moves in a lethargic pace for the most part of the narration.Pa.Ranjith has made a mark on the Kollywood industry with his two odd films Attakathi and Madras that were utterly realistic and easily expected in the list of personal favorites of anyone who is seriously into Tamil movies.Kabali being helmed by Ranjith,there were clear assumptions from a major section that its going to be a realistic,slow-paced thriller rather than an out and out Rajnikanth film like Shankar's Sivaji or K.S Ravikumar's Padayappa.The movie gave me a feeling that Thalaivar Rajnikanth was casted in a role that had shades of typical Ulaganayagan Kamal Hassan portrayals,particularly coming to the emotional sequences.The goose-bump sequences were minimal and elevated only by the grace and dialogue delivery of the superstar.The pace was really an issue leaving side the initial sequences and choked a smooth narrative.The lack of logic in the screenplay was evident and turned a hiccup in multiple junctures in the clichéd storyline.The flashback sequences were comapritively realistic and presented well by Ranjith.The climax turned unintentionally funny due to poor execution and could have dealt much better..The action sequences too were a mixed bag,with two fights being well-choreographed and two,especially the climax fight being a big letback.Rajni movies are always known for repeated audience and cherishable mass sequences,but Kabali fails in this part too as there were only a hand full or even less number of memorable sequences that will stay in the minds once we are out of the cinema hall.
There were rumors about a superstar making surprise cameo in the movie but didn't materialize.None would point-out a single film where Rajnikanth failed to impress with his style and acting prowess and this time too the 66 year old actor has managed to pull off a really impressive performance as Kabaleeswaran,the good-hearted gangster.Another pick among the cast was Dhansika playing the role of a hit-girl giving out a refreshing performance.Radhika Apte was well-cast as the lead heroine,but couldn't deliver a standout performance as expected.Attakathi Dinesh's character was peculiar and made its presence felt ,the same time giving him a break from his usual village-oriented roles.The rest of the cast that includes Kishore,John Vijay etc did their part well.Taiwaneese actor Winsyon Chao failed to enact a menacing villain.The songs and background score by Ranjiths favorite Santhosh Narayanan were adequate as far as the narration is concerned,but couldn't make much impact except for the 'Nerrupu Da' bit that created a huge buzz before the release.There were good number of interesting slow motion sequences by G.Murali who did his job well the camera.Cuts by Praveen K.L could have been better.In all means,Kabali is an opportunity wasted by Pa.Ranjith who failed to utilize the charisma of the veteran actor to the fullest.Better less said about a thriller where the so called 'thrills' take a backseat.Give it a miss or watch it just for Superstar Rajnjikanth and his evergreen style of acting..
If yours idea about thlaivar movie is all about action,punch dialogue,silly humour,colourful songs and larger than life then u ll be disappointed,,but looking for a change in thalaivar then go for it....it's a complete Pa Ranjith film..because in two hour thirty minutes movie u only get see a maximum fifteen minutes of super star Rajanikanth.the rest is all about Kabali ....
When the movie "Kabali" was announced by the production house that it would be directed by Pa.Ranjith (Attakathi and Madras ) with "Superstar" Rajnikanth, all were much surprised on how the movie would come out and whether it would satisfy all classes of audiences and especially the Thalaivar's fans.
Next would be the characterization of the Main Villain ( Tony Lee) as to challenge a person like Kabali (Rajni) on screen one on one, you would want the baddie to be hard grit, menacing and gruesome ( at least to some level),but here the director seems to have missed on his character design due to which the Villain lacks the impact.One of the Main Strong Zones of Kabali is none other than Music Director Santhosh Narayanan who has done a excellent work in the songs and the background score department for the movie.
True to the the trailer, P.a Ranjith has beautifully showcased Rajni's style & fights melodiously throughout the movie.The film does get a bit slow in between by bringing out Kabali's emotions and sadness but seeing things on a larger front makes the whole experience a treat to watch.
Kabali is entirely misunderstood movie which is totally different from what it showed in teasers.Its an emotional gangster flick which can be watched once..
Kabali flies down from Malaysia to India but his path to find his wife is riddled with many problems.Plus Points: 1)Rajinikanth: Rajni is the major plus point for this movie.His style,his charisma,his looks everything is marvelous.No one can match his level.He gave brilliant performance as aged gangster.His laugh is enough for whistles allover the theater.2)Music: Santhosh Narayan gave some truly world class music.Song Neruppu daa is extraordinary and even his BGM is different and perfectly sets the mood of movie.3)Interval and Climax: Both the Interval and Climax are the only scenes in Kabali which really satisfies audience.Especially climax fight brings out the Rajini we are missing the whole time.Minus Points: 1)Screenplay: Kabali is surprisingly disappointing with boring narration and dragging screenplay.All the audience who expected Rajni mark mass movie will be surely disappointed with Kabali.This movie is more of a emotional gangster flick than mass one.2)Duration: Kabali has duration of 2hr 30 min which is makes audience bored for sure.3)Missing Rajni style: Except his looks ,Kabali has no punch dialogues,no mass scenes,no stylish scenes which are expected from Rajini.So,Kabali is entirely misunderstood movie which is totally different from what it showed in teasers.Its an emotional gangster flick which can be watched once.Kabali also ends on a shocking note which came as an entirely unexpected moment.My rating 5.5/10.
Not shocked to see this movie which has a mixed critic but all have to admit that this not a Mass Entertainer and a Rajinikanth CRUX.This movie had all in it to be rated as Good film and Screenplay Thanks to Director Pa Ranjith.As Superstar played lead old gangster role the followers expectations was sky high because of the fast paced made the film Teaser.Which is also a business tactics on the promotions, nothing to hide.Finally watching this film as mere audience without any expectations will give you most satisfaction than any other hypothesis.Go watch & Enjoy as always...
People are entitled to their opinions and you don't need to like them, but respect it and move on.Lets leave aside the fact that this movie doesn't have the typical Rajini mass elements, comedy, style, punch dialogues, action scenes, etc.