Thoughts on Kabali.

Note : This is just an expansion of my initial reaction to Kabali. There are no explicit spoilers, but don't complain after reading.

tldr; Kabali is a very brave attempt which should be watched for the message Ranjith has tried to convey. I have some issues though, maybe my expectations were too high. But Ranjith's track record does that.

• First thought after the movie ended was "Wow, Ranjith is a fish out of water here". I really admire Ranjith. Not many can distill political ideology into a gripping script like Madras. The writing seemed really forced in the "Mass scenes" and the over-the-top action scenes and an unnecessarily drawn out 2nd half. It was more fluid in the scenes where he is talking about the things he really wants to talk about.

• It sounds great on paper. Make a serious issue based movie with the superstar, thus expanding the reach of the audience exponentially. The only issue is, where do you draw the line? How do you make a movie which is dark/raw enough to explain and tackle real issues, issues people don't really want to talk about, but needs to be U certified to fit Rajini's image? This is Ranjith's problem. Kabali doesn't fully get into the social issues, nor does it satisfy the requirements of a typical Rajini movie. 

• The reason Madras worked so well is that Ranjith never explicitly mentioned the social issues he wanted to tackle. It's all woven into the story beautifully. The wall was such a beautifully executed subversion. Here, there is so much exposition. I understand that these are real issues and they need to be raised at the highest levels but Ranjith found a better way to do it in Madras...

• Doesn't mean I didn't like parts of the movie. Attakathi Dinesh is awesome. Rajini has finally decided to play roles which suit his age. Hope this is a start. Radhika Apte was under-utilized IMO. The story behind the suit is a great way to drive home a point (Which is exactly the kind of stuff I expected the whole movie to be. A lot more of this.)

• What I expected was something a lot more engaging. A lot more Ranjith. What we get is a mish-mash of typical Rajini movie and a movie Ranjith wanted to make. I have a feeling Ranjith would be satisfied though. He got a platform not many get, and he got his message out.