In reality, the Tamils have been an important part of Dharavi since the 1920s and Tamil films have been set in the community before, notably Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan (1987) and Bombay (1995). These are Tamils from Tirunelveli District in Southern Tamil Nadu who migrated to Mumbai.
He is the leader of the Tamil clan in Dharavi, the biggest (and most famous) slum in Mumbai. Or perhaps my surprise as an outsider perspective is not shared by many Indians? ‘Kaala’ or ‘black’ is the nickname of the Rajnikanth character. The attempted ban in Karnataka followed a statement Rajnikanth made about the decades long dispute about water from the Kaveri River which runs from Karnataka through Tamil Nadu (and Kerala). It’s worth noting here that Rajnikanth has decided to do what his famous predecessors have done and move into politics. Kaala takes on a host of political issues in contemporary India and I’m surprised that it has only, so far, been banned in one major market in Karnataka.
Kaala doesn’t suffer in the same way on either count. Clearly, in Kabali, the politics were not foregrounded enough – and Rajnikanth played too complex a character for his fans. Rajinth, according to Wikipedia, was influenced as a student by films like Battle of Algiers (Algeria-Italy 1966) and City of God (Brazil 2002) and his second feature, Madras (India, Tamil 2014), was a political drama based in North Chennai. Personally, I enjoyed the film, but I can see what might be the problem. As usual, that film tended to divide audiences with the suggestion that it might not have appealed to Tamil Cinema’s masses who worship Rajnikanth as the ultimate hero. The result was Kabali(India, Tamil 2016). In 2016 he teamed up with a young and controversial Tamil director, Pa. Nobody else bestrides popular cinema in quite the same way. Superstar Rajnikanth is unique in global cinema. And all this has become possible today, only due to my friend, director Rajkumar Periasamy and his script," he said.One of many posters for KAALA – Rajnikanth sits symbolically in the centre of Dharavi, on his Mahindra Jeep wearing shades, black shirt, lunghi and sandals Sony Pictures Films India is again a global brand who have their humongous success tag right there along their name. To work on a project in which this iconic legend is the producer, itself is a great feeling for me. Infact he's an international icon living amidst us. Kamal Haasan sir is a master craftsman of Indian Cinema. "It's a project filled with multiple emotions for me. Sivakarthikeyan expressed his gratitude for getting an opportunity to associate with Haasan, Sony Pictures Films India and Periasamy. This being our first step into the very vibrant world of Tamil cinema, we at Sony Pictures Films India hope to increasingly engage with a new generation as well as veteran creators who are masters in regional cinema and whose storytelling has a global resonance." Meanwhile, SPFI MD Vivek Krishnani said, "The creative team at Sony Pictures identified this amazing story and worked on it for several months along with director Rajkumar Periaswamy. Also Read: Virat Kohli steps down as Test captain here's how the cricket world reacted