Rajinikanth in Kaala (Image courtesy: dhanushkraja)
New Delhi:
Superstar Rajinikanth, who has been a part of the industry for over 40 years, said that the critics have tried to 'write him off' over time but he 'came back stronger every time.' He is currently awaiting the release of his much-anticipated film Kaala. In the recent years, Rajinikanth has made films like Sivaji, Enthiran, Kochadaiiyaan, Lingaa and Kabali. However, 2014's Lingaa and Kochaidaiyaan had failed at the box office but 2016's Kabali broke major records. Speaking in context to the failure of Lingaa, he told news agency PTI, "I agreed to the story because the main story revolved around building a dam and interlinking of rivers was also a subplot. Interlinking of rivers is my lifetime dream, so I gave my nod immediately." "However, the film flunked at the box office. Critics, in no time, wrote me off. They have been doing that for 40 years of my career. But, I bounced back every single time," Rajinikanth added. He was speaking at the audio launch of Kaala.
Kochaidaiyaan was directed by Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya. "Soundarya is a genius. Working with intelligent people is easy. But, we should be careful with geniuses. She listed out a post-production budget to enhance the film's final version. But, I was sure that this film wouldn't be successful. So, I insisted on releasing the film with the same version," he told PTI.
Of his new film Kaala, produced by son-in-law Dhanush (Aishwaryaa's husband), Rajinikanth said he had suggested the idea of the film to director Pa Ranjith. "I called Ranjith and told him about the slums in Dharavi and the Tamil population who are residing there for years," he said. In Kaala, Rajinikanth plays the role of a don while Nana Patekar features as the main antagonist.
Watch the viral Kaala teaser here.
Rajinikanth and team Kaala shot for the film in Mumbai last year. "I warned Ranjith that Kaala should be a Rajinikanth film in Ranjith's style unlike Kabali which was a Ranjith movie. There's politics in Kaala but it's not a political drama. Ranjith is a great human being who cares for his community and his people a lot," he told PTI, adding that the director camped in Dharavi slums for weeks to do research on the film.
Praising Nana Patekar's performance in the film, Rajinikanth said, "In my entire career, only two actors challenged me as villain in my films. One is Raghuvaran's character of Mark Antony in Baasha and Ramya Krishnan's portrayal of Neelambari in Padaiyappa. Now, Nana Patekar has done a great job. I was thrilled by his performance and thoroughly enjoyed it."
"Kaala is a film for the people and of the people. It will be an important film in Indian cinema which talks about inequality," he told PTI.
Kaala releases on June 7 and also features Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, Samuthirakani and Pankaj Tripathi. (With PTI inputs)
Kochaidaiyaan was directed by Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya. "Soundarya is a genius. Working with intelligent people is easy. But, we should be careful with geniuses. She listed out a post-production budget to enhance the film's final version. But, I was sure that this film wouldn't be successful. So, I insisted on releasing the film with the same version," he told PTI.
Of his new film Kaala, produced by son-in-law Dhanush (Aishwaryaa's husband), Rajinikanth said he had suggested the idea of the film to director Pa Ranjith. "I called Ranjith and told him about the slums in Dharavi and the Tamil population who are residing there for years," he said. In Kaala, Rajinikanth plays the role of a don while Nana Patekar features as the main antagonist.
Watch the viral Kaala teaser here.
Rajinikanth and team Kaala shot for the film in Mumbai last year. "I warned Ranjith that Kaala should be a Rajinikanth film in Ranjith's style unlike Kabali which was a Ranjith movie. There's politics in Kaala but it's not a political drama. Ranjith is a great human being who cares for his community and his people a lot," he told PTI, adding that the director camped in Dharavi slums for weeks to do research on the film.
Praising Nana Patekar's performance in the film, Rajinikanth said, "In my entire career, only two actors challenged me as villain in my films. One is Raghuvaran's character of Mark Antony in Baasha and Ramya Krishnan's portrayal of Neelambari in Padaiyappa. Now, Nana Patekar has done a great job. I was thrilled by his performance and thoroughly enjoyed it."
"Kaala is a film for the people and of the people. It will be an important film in Indian cinema which talks about inequality," he told PTI.
Kaala releases on June 7 and also features Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, Samuthirakani and Pankaj Tripathi. (With PTI inputs)
