I wrote, vlogged and blogged about #KabaliMania for weeks leading up to the release. From spray-painting an airplane to brands joining the wagon left right and centre, Kabali was viral, from day one.
But the celebrations on ground, through twelve hours of reporting, were completely lacklustre and banal. In fact, there was more happening in Bangalore and Mumbai, than in Chennai, where I was, camera in hand and wondering why the party hadn’t started.
Rajini Has Moved On
Rajinikanth is no more the man of the subaltern masses. Rural or even non-metro Tamil Nadu is not his focus anymore. He’s moved on from being stylish to suave. He’s keeping it ‘real’ both on screen and off it, henceforth. Coupled with the completely different movie going experience this time around, old timers and fans of the Rajini plus style sans logic, have been the losers.
And there’s no going back.
No Tickets, No Cash, No Counter
There’s a scene in Mannan (1992), where Rajini the fan, braves the first day first show ticket lines. He comes out triumphant, with his clothes torn, glasses broken and beaming brilliantly. This is every Rajini fan’s dream; to be able to watch the movie on the first day, fighting it out.
But three days before the release of the film, it was announced that all shows have been sold out for the first week. Yes, it was Rajini’s fans, who bought the tickets. But these are the kind who will pay over 500 bucks to book them online, not the ones who are willing to wait for hours on end at the counter, to spend their daily wage.
In the current scenario of distribution and promotion, no one knows how much a film actually makes or how the financials work out. But, this makes for a brilliant strategy, one that does not depend on how good the film is, but rakes in the moolah purely on star power and marketing. Even Rajini fans will agree that the trailer sucked, except for the Rajini parts.
Kabali is New
Both Rajinikanth and the director Pa.Ranjith warned the public that it would be a different film. It was a brilliant effort. There have been enough reviews from both sides of the fence and from on top of it over the last few days. but the one consistent fact all through, is that it isn’t a super star film. It is a Rajini film. While there is an entire subset of fans who will feel alienated, I can’t help rooting for the super star, for this do-over. He’s moved on seamlessly and with quite a big bang, to a whole new set of fans, who have decades more of adoration to pour on him. The old Rajini is no more. He will live on, like MGR and Sivaji in select theatres across the state and on DTH and cable.