'Kaala' is about the diversity of Dharavi: Director Pa Ranjith

Filmmaker Pa Ranjith, who has teamed up for the second time with superstar Rajinikanth in upcoming gangster drama Kaala, says his film is not based on the life of any individual in his latest interview to Tamil magazine Vikatan.

Brushing aside rumours that the character of Rajinikanth, who plays a slum lord turned gangster in the film, is based on the life of Haji Mastan, Ranjith clarified that the film is not inspired by any person’s life. He said that the film talks about the livelihood of a society, Dharavi in particular. Ranjith said that the story is about the diversity of Dharavi slum.

He went on to add that a lot of Tirunelveli Tamils live in Dharavi, a place filled with multi-cultural, multi-lingual families, and he wrote the script keeping in mind the lives of these people.

He said the inspiration for the titular character, played by Rajinikanth, was his grandfather. Kaala, produced by Dhanush, is the story of an emotional patriarch. The story revolves around Rajinikanth, his family which comprises of four sons, grandchildren, his friends and more.  Slated for release on April 27 worldwide, the teaser of Kaala will be released on March 2.

The film stars Huma Qureshi and Nana Patekar, who is returning to Tamil after a decade, in pivotal roles. Patekar in south was last seen in Bharathiraja's Bommalattam.

Although it was initially rumoured that Huma would be playing Rajinikanth’s pair in the film, it was later clarified that she plays a college student. Nana Patekar will be seen playing a politician with a negative shade. Kaala, which has music by Santhosh Narayanan, also stars Anjali Patil and Samuthirakani in important roles.

Apparently, Rajinikanth will also have dialogues in Hindi, and the makers don’t intend to dub those lines in Tamil as it will appeal to non-Hindi speaking audiences as well.

(Content provided by Digital Native)