Whoa. Now, from where will I start? The Kabali-fever has caught everyone and one cannot pass a day without hearing words like Kabali, Thalaivar, Superstar, Pa.Ranjith, Neruppuda. Isn’t it? Even viral mobile apps like Pokemon Go, Prisma find it difficult to  dominate Kabali. Ever since the release date of Kabali was announced, everyone is highly excited about catching the film FDFS. There have been many more Rajini films, which had craze and expectations, but, Kabali… Adhukkum Mela!

Following Lingaa, Rajinikanth started to look out for new stories for his next film. While many big names were considered as front runners for directing his next, the announcement about Rajini’s next film came as a surprise shocker. A man of his stature could have collaborated with some legendary director, but he decided to do his next with this man called Pa.RANJITH. I still remember the healthy memes created when this announcement was made, a year ago. Not many would have expected this combination for sure. From there it started. Now the project looks sky high. Well, I don’t want to elongate and bore you. Kabali has made records and it has huge expectations. All agreed. Well, but what is the reason behind these records and expectations? Here is my thoughts and interpretation on why Kabali could have got this much fan following.

FIRST LOOK POSTERS - Rajini looking so royal with his blazers on, in the backdrop of Twin towers and the two other posters which followed. This had set up the base, because only by then, people started to develop an assumption on how the film is going to be.

TEASERRRRRRRRR - Well, I do not remember how many times, I replayed the teaser video in Youtube. I literally killed the replay button. One wouldn’t have seen a powerful teaser like that in the recent times. Thanks to the wonderful background score from Santhosh Narayanan and vera level cuts by Praveen KL. The last thirty seconds are the highlight when Rajini says “Ha ha ha… Tamil padangalle, inga marul vechukittu….“KABAAALLIIII DAAAAAA!” And the last shot of the teaser, the RETRO LOOK. One of my friends, who is in the United States, called up to share his excitement of seeing the teaser. That is the level of impact this teaser had. There have been many teasers. But Kabali is a phenomenon. The teaser became the prime source for the whole world to build up the expectations on the film.

NERUPPU DAA Songs - After 42 days of the teaser launch, Santhosh Narayanan’s musical got launched. For sure, NERUPPU Da is the highpoint. Arunraja Kamaraj’s fierceful lyrics and powerful rendition made the song stand high. A perfect theme song for a gangster. I personally feel Vaanam Parthen is the most underrated song, while Maya Nadhi is my favorite. Lovely album. No commercial compromises. Expecting the songs to be visually appealing.

NERUPPU DA TEASER - June 16th… The video teaser of Neruppu da was released, just to make the audience expectation rise like hell. It made the fans go crazy and gaga all over. After seeing the Neruppuda teaser, everyone’s reaction was MAGIZHCHI! :)

MAIN REASON - Both the teasers, first look posters had one thing in common. The look of Rajinikanth. Every fan would have badly wanted to see Thalaivar in an avatar like this. Lingaa, Kochadaiyaan, Enthiran, Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Baba… The list might go on for long. But in no recent films, we got to see Rajini like this. After the looks, it is the much-needed mass commercial elements that fans would expect in a Rajinikanth film. The teasers assured that there is enough number of scenes like that. Thalaivar was back!

Pa.RANJITH - He is a man who loves reality, and who films reality so well. Attakathi and Madras are the best examples. His characters have been so strong. Dinakaran in Attakathi, Kaali, Anbu, Johnny in Madras, are still remembered. In that way, for sure - Kabali, Kumudhavalli and other characters would be remembered. Apart from Thalaivar fans, the general audience has developed a liking for the film, as it is expected that Ranjith has not made any commercial compromise for Rajinikanth. He said, in an interview, Kabali was not written for Rajinikanth… Rajinikanth was made to fit into Kabali. See.. That’s where a director stands, I feel. How big your star maybe, you should be strong in your story and have faith in it. Also, when a star like Rajinikanth is on board, directors tend to choose experienced actors to play the supporting roles. But here, Ranjith decided to retain most of his Madras cast, who are all upcoming actors, to play pivotal roles in the film. I’d like to recollect the moment when Ranjith tweeted about Attakathi’s victory. That tweet read “Vetri.. Neraya edhirpaarpugal.. Ennai naanagave irukka paathu kolgiren.” Now, I realise, how true this man has been to his words. He has no attitude, and people close to him, have always told me that he’s the same Ranjith who has been since Attakathi days. I feel, Ranjith is that kind of next gen filmmaker, who is going to take Tamil cinema forward along with the likes of Karthik Subbaraj, Nalan Kumarasamy, Manikandan and others.

EXCITING BITS - It is rumored that Thalaivar has danced for a continuous 30 second kuthu portion in Ulagam Oruvanukka song. I am madly waiting for it.

Rajinikanth speaks in not one, not two, but three languages. Yes. He will be speaking in Tamil, Malay and Chinese languages. Thalaivar Tamil la pesnaale oru range la irukum. Idhula Malay and Chinese vera. Fans are in for treat sureshot. This 152 minute feature is going to be about Kabaleeswaran, who fights for the problems of labor workers in Malaysia. For those who all expect the film to be a great action packed thriller, please do not expect the film to be that way. Kabali is expected to be an emotionally driven film that will make you feel the impact. it is time for us to taste the product and give the feedback.

In less than a minute, tickets got booked in Abirami and SPI.  Everything got booked. Friends call me to ask for a ticket.  But, I myself wonder how am I going to watch Kabali. Neruppuda lyric writer Arunraja himself posts “My dear friends ungalaipolave naanum FDFS kidaikkamal yaridamaavadhu vanga poradikondu than irukiren... mannikkavum ”.

Getting a ticket for Kabali is a hardship for sure :P

I am not a fan of Rajinikanth, but believe me. I’ve fallen for this man’s screen presence and etc,etc,etc… I’ve fallen for Kabali. His previous films like Lingaa, Kochadaiiyaan, Enthiran, didn’t  excite me as much as Kabali has did. Even a non-Indian, a foreigner, who doesn’t know about Rajinikanth, would ask “Yaaru ya andha Kabali...Enakkey avara paakanum pola irukku!!” :D. The next ten or fifteen days is going to be all about Kabali. Kabali written all over. Kabali mania, it is going to be. I am excited. Aren’t you? 

MAGIZHCHI!