The eagerly awaited follow-up to Kabali featuring the team of Rajinikanth and director Pa Ranjith now has a name. The superstar’s 164th film will be titled Kaala. The name also carries a subtitle – Karikaalan – which is believed to be an intriguing reference to the Chola King who ruled during the Sangam Period.
Tweeting the name of the film, actor and producer Dhanush, whose Wunderbar Films is producing the film, also released the first teaser poster – a stark, minimalist poster in black featuring the title in brilliant red.
Wunderbar films presents .. superstar Rajinikanth in and as #thalaivar164 pic.twitter.com/rUrMWCYNkJ
— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) May 25, 2017
Dhanush also released the first teaser poster in Telugu and Hindi, the other languages in which the film will be released.
#Kaala - Hindi and Telugu #superstar pic.twitter.com/NGjhX2rYqZ
— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) May 25, 2017
Speaking to Puthiya Thalaimurai, director Ranjith said that the name Kaala was a shortening of the name Karikaalan. He said that Rajinikanth had instantly liked the name of the film once Ranjith told him about it. He also added that the film will definitely contain a good amount of action, adding that the name Kaala gave a sense of the power that the film would have.
Ranjith also said that the shooting of the film will begin on May 28 in Mumbai, with the shooting then moving on to Chennai. However, Ranjith refused to divulge any further details about the plot of the film or the release date.
The collaboration between Rajini and Ranjith had been announced in August last year, soon after the release of Kabali. While details of the film have been largely kept under wraps, news that the film told the story of a Tamil underworld figure in Mumbai had led to speculation about the main character.
Rajinikanth even received a legal notice from Sundar Shaekhar, who claimed to be the adopted son of Haji Mastan, demanding that the film should not depict Mastan as a “smuggler and underworld don”.
However, Wunderbar Films then released a statement stating that the film is a purely fictional story set in Mumbai. “Specifically, this film is not about Shri Haji Mastan or his family background,” the release clarified.