Rajinikanth to reunite with Pa Ranjith for political drama after Kaala, in what is likely to be his last film
On the last day of 2017, Rajinikanth officially announced he is ready to join politics and float his own party. As soon this news broke out, rumours started doing the rounds that the 67-year-old star has finally bid adieu to acting and that Kaala will be his last film.
Rajinikanth in a poster of Kaala. Twitter@SuperstarRajini
When we did some digging to validate these reports, we learnt that the rumours are partially true. According to trustworthy sources, Rajinikanth is contemplating leaving cinema for good but only after doing another film with Kabali and Kaala director Pa Ranjith. The project, tipped to be a political drama, is most likely slated to go on the floors later this year.
“Rajini sir and Ranjith have held discussions for a new project, a political flick which will be the perfect send off to his acting career. Kaala was supposed to be Rajini sir’s last film but he felt he needed to do something that leaves a lasting impact on the audience. It was Ranjith’s idea to do a political film that’ll be packed with ideologies Rajini sir swears by. The regular shooting is expected to commence from this year-end,” a source told Firstpost and added that Ranjith is already working on the script after getting a go ahead from Rajinikanth for the idea.
The casting process, according to the source, will take a while as both Rajinikanth and Ranjith are keenly looking forward to the release of Kaala and how it gets received, especially because it will be used to endorse Ranjith’s pro-dalit voice. The film will also have a strong politics reference, Ranjith revealed while addressing a gathering last year in Madurai.
In Kaala, produced by Dhanush, Rajinikanth plays a slum lord-turned-gangster. He fights for oppressed Tamils in Mumbai and takes on a politician, played by Nana Patekar, head on. Not long ago, rumours made headlines that the film’s story is based on the life and times of Haji Mastan, the famous Mumbai-based smuggler who later turned reformer, but the makers denied it in a statement. “The story is not based on any one person or event,” Ranjith had said.
Kaala, in Sanskrit, refers to colour, destiny or fate. Predominant portion of the film has been shot in Mumbai. The story unfolds in Dharavi, but the makers could not shoot in the actual slum. Therefore, they erected a set worth over Rs 5 crore in a studio in Chennai to shoot the slum sequences. Kaala also stars Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, Pankaj Tripathi and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles.
Although shot as a Tamil film, Kaala is believed to feature some dialogues in Marathi and Hindi. Rajinikanth is said to have mouthed some lines in Hindi in the portion set in Mumbai. The film has music by Santhosh Narayanan. Lyca Productions, the makers of Shankar’s 2.0, will distribute Kaala worldwide. In a two-film deal, Lyca bagged the rights of Dhanush’s Vada Chennai and Kaala.
