Undoing a stereotype

In the 1993 blockbuster Walter Vetrivel , Sathyaraj makes a hero entry by destroying the rowdy helming a kidnappers’ ring, a rowdy whose name is... Kabali. Tamil cinema has traditionally stereotyped people with this name, and used them mainly as goons.

So, Rajinikanth’s rather lengthy punch line in the teaser, where he explains that he is not the usual sort of Kabali may, on surface, seem like it is just another hero moment. But a deeper probe hints at more.

By titling a Rajinikanth movie with a name that has been severely ghettoised, and in making the star spell it out in the teaser, the movie seems to be director Ranjith’s effort at breaking the stereotype of this name, and consequently of a people, that have been vilified over the years. This Kabali does not wear a lungi, he wears designer suits. He is not shabby, he is well-groomed. He may be raw, but he is still sophisticated.

While Rajini’s movies have always been for and of the masses,

Kabali seems different as it seems to be layered in a way that most movies aren’t.

There is plenty of room for interpretation, be it in the title card with the mural of labourers at work, or in the use of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s photo that hangs above Rajinikanth when he is asked why he became a gangster. Kabali is more than what meets the eye.