ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಆಕ್ರೋಶಕ್ಕೆ ಗುರಿಯಾದ 'ಕಾಲಾ' ವಿಮರ್ಶಕರಿಗೆ ಹಿಡಿಸಿತೇ.?

ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ವಿರೋಧ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡ 'ಕಾಲಾ' ಹೇಗಿದೆ? - ವಿಜಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ

ಮುಂಬೈನ ಧಾರಾವಿಯ (ಕೊಳಗೇರಿ) ದೊರೆ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ತಿರುನೇಲ್ವೇಲಿಯ ಗ್ಯಾಂಗ್ ಸ್ಟರ್ ಒಬ್ಬನ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುವ ಕಥೆ ಇದು. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಭೂ ಮಾಫಿಯಾ, ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಧಾರಾವಿಯ ಕೊಳಗೇರಿಯ ಜನರನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಕಾಪಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂಬುದೇ 'ಕಾಲಾ' ಚಿತ್ರದ ತಿರುಳು. 'ಭೂಮಿ ಎಂಬುದು ಶ್ರೀಸಾಮಾನ್ಯನರ ಹಕ್ಕು' ಎಂಬ ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನು ರಜನಿಕಾಂತ್ ಕೈಲಿ ಹೇಳಿಸಿ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಪಾ ರಂಜಿತ್ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಫಲಿಸಿದೆ - ಸುಬ್ರಮಣಿಯನ್ ಸೂರ್ಯನಾರಾಯಣನ್.

Kaala review: An underwhelming film made for Rajinikanth, The politician - The Hindu

Kaala is certainly more a Ranjith movie than Rajinikanth and that isn't a terrible thing, given the fact that Rajinikanth isn't merely a star anymore... he's a politician too. The timing couldn't have been better for their reunion. It's difficult to think of Kaala as a film that was written for a star who claims to have had no political ambitions at the time. Now that he has become a politician, it's Rajni the superstar that we long to see - Vishal Menon

Kaala Review - Times of India

Ranjith gives a spin to the classic white-is-pure-and-black-is-evil logic. Here, Ram is bad and Ravan is good. Watch out for the confrontation scenes between Nana Patekar and Rajinikanth. They are total paisa vasool. Hearing Rajini speak in Hindi and Marathi at times will be a delight for his fans - Subramanian Suryanarayanan

Witness Rajinikanth - The Actor in this layered Pa Ranjith revolution - The Indian Express

Kaala isn't a Rajinikanth film - it is a Pa Ranjith film starring actor Rajinikanth; not the superstar, mind you. Ranjith makes this absolutely clear right from the word go by giving Rajini his simplest introduction on celluloid after ages. Kaala isn't a film about a gangster but a film about revolution. And Ranjith stays true to his objective. The traces of what we saw in Kabali have been fleshed out and beautifully embellished - Ashameera Aiyappan.

Rajinikanth takes backseat, Pa Ranjith drives the revolution - Hindustan Times

Kaala Karikaalan, the don who rules Dharavi, is not the star of the story. The plot revolves around the people who live in Mumbai's sprawling slum. These are the people who left Tamil Nadu for a better life and ended up living in world's third largest slum, which has an annual turnover of $1 billion. These are blue collar workers who earn their living doing manual labour and are looked down upon. Taking a cause close to his heart -- Dalit oppression, the director successfully tells a relevant story, exactly what the audience expects. He also understands that he is borrowing Rajinikanth's voice to tell his story and he will have to honour the strings that come attached with it - Priyanka Sundar