Rajinikanth’s next movie ‘Kaala’ gains significance because it is the thespian’s first movie since his plunge into active politics a few months ago. The Tamil superstar who has announced his arrival into politics is expected to unveil his own party soon. At this juncture, Kaala was expected to hint at the actor’s future course as a politician. The movie’s audio was launched in a gala function in Chennai on Wednesday and, as expected, the songs were overloaded with politics. A minister from the ruling AIADMK came down heavily on Rajinikanth saying that his film will become a “Kaalan” (mushroom) and added that the government will not watch in silence if the songs attempt to disrupt peace in the State.
Image Credit: Movie – Kaala
Kaala songs do have politics in the lyrics but not to the scale the minister had feared. Kaala’s director Pa Ranjith is known for voicing the concerns of the downtrodden in his movies. He had done this in his earlier movie with Rajinikanth, Kabali. Again the duo Pa Ranjith and composer Santhosh Narayanan has come out with some very fine compositions, though there are tunes which remind some of their older songs. A single from the Kaala album “Semma Weightu” was unveiled a day before the official launch amidst much fanfare.
Most of the songs narrate the pain and frustration of the working class and the urge to escape from the shackles. The songs “Poraduvom” (We will fight) and “Theruvilakku” (Streetlight) with powerful lyrics are aimed at venting the ire of the deprived. These songs are in hip-hop and rap styles, the genres Pa Ranjith and Santhosh Narayanan love to deploy often. In “Poraduvom” the lines in Marathi and Hindi insist that the fight needs to transcend the barriers of language and region.
“Kannamma” is the exceptional melody in the album. The tune and the lyrics are soothing to the core, but one is reminded of “Maya nadhi” of Kabali while listening. “Urimaiyai Meetpom” (Let’s regain our rights) is one lovely number very close to qawwali with vibrant percussions complementing the sparkling lyrics. Lyricists Arunraja Kamaraj, Kabilan, Uma Devi, Roshan Jamrock, Logan, and Arivu have penned down lines which deal with equality, rights, humanity, and upliftment of the suppressed. The rapper-songwriter crew Dopeadelicz, from Dharavi, has also contributed with lyrics to some songs.
Critics see that the songs with political overtones suggest that the gangster character will help in boosting up the leader image of Rajinikanth in real life. But Rajinikanth was quick to deny that Kaala is a political film. “There is politics in the film, but this is not a political film”, he said. In Kaala, Rajinikanth dons the role of a Tamil gangster in Mumbai in Kaala.
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