Kabali is an upcoming 2016 Indian Tamil-language gangster-drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith.[5] The film stars Rajinikanth as the title character, whilst Taiwanese actor Winston Chao, Radhika Apte, Dhansika, Dinesh Ravi, Kalaiyarasan, and John Vijay star in other pivotal roles. Principal photography for the film began on 21 August 2015 in Chennai. While filming mostly occurred in Malaysia, smaller scenes were shot in Bangkok and Hong Kong.[6][7][8][9] The film is slated for release on 22 July 2016.[10]
Development
In June 2015, director Pa. Ranjith announced his third directorial venture, which would follow his previous two films Attakathi (2012) and Madras (2014), with Rajinikanth via Twitter. Rajinikanth had been impressed with Ranjith's work in Madras (2014) and subsequently Rajinikanth's daughter, Soundarya, asked Ranjith to work on a script for her father.[17] Working with Ranjith would make Kabali Rajinikanth's first film with a novel director for the first time since his collaboration with S. Shankar in Sivaji (2007).[18] In an interview with IndiaGlitz, producer S. Thanu revealed that Rajinikanth had personally asked him to produce the Ranjith-directed film. The producer's commercially successful Bairavi (1978) was Rajinikanth's first lead role film and the two had not collaborated since.[19] It was speculated that Rajinikanth's role would be based on a real-life mob boss from Chennai.[20] Santhosh Narayanan was confirmed as the film's music composer, continuing his partnership with Ranjith after the latter's previous two films. Ranjith also retained G. Murali, the cinematographer of Madras.
On 17 August 2015, Ranjith announced the title of the film to be Kabali and that Rajinikanth would play the role of Kabaliswaran.[21] The makers of the film had earlier considered using title Kaali, which was the title of Rajinikanth's 1980 film. As that film did not do well in the Tamil Nadu box office at the time, the makers passed on using it for the new film. Another title, Kannabhiran, was also considered but it was later found that the title's rights were already held by director Ameer Sultan for a future film.[22]
Casting
In the film, Rajinikanth plays the role of an aged crime boss.[23] Dinesh Ravi, who played the lead in Ranjith's Attakathi (2012), and Kalaiyarasan, who played pivotal roles in both of the director's previous films, were also confirmed to be part of the film. An important role was offered to Prakash Raj initially,[24] but later it was said that the role was declined due to scheduling issues and John Vijay was cast for the role instead.[25] It was later confirmed that the role of the lead character's wife would be given to Radhika Apte, who was introduced to Tamil films through Dhoni (2012).[26] Dhansika was signed to play a supporting character in the film.[27]
Filming
On 18 August 2015, director Pa Ranjith announced on his Twitter page that principal photography would begin the following week,[28] which was confirmed on 22 August when Behindwoods covered a photo shoot which took place on 21 August at AVM Studios in Chennai. First schedule of the filming started on Vinayagar Chaturthi on 17 September 2015 at the Russian Centre of Science and Cultural in Chennai.[29]
Release
Kabali is expected to be released in Tamil worldwide, along with dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam.[30] The film will be simultaneously released in Singapore and Indonesia.[31] Malik Streams Productions and Distribution, a Malaysian media company, will simultaneously release the film in Malay for exclusive screening in Malaysia alongside the original Tamil version.[32] The film will also be dubbed in Thai and Chinese, where talks are under way to simultaneously release the film in Hong Kong and China.[33][34] Kabali will also premiere at the Le Grand Rex in Paris, France.[35] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Jaya TV.[36]
Marketing
The Malaysian airline, AirAsia became an official partner for Kabali and certain AirAsia planes will be painted with a Kabali theme.[37][34] The Indian financial company Muthoot FinCorp who is also an official partner of the film produced silver coins embossed with the image of actor as cast in the film.[38][39] Its teaser trailer was released in April 2016 and went viral in Asia and gained 5 million views in less than 24 hours becoming the most viewed teaser in Asia.[40][41] By 28 May, the Kabali teaser garnered 20 million views, making it one of the most watched Indian film teasers.[42]
Online piracy issue
On July 19, 2016, three days prior to the film's worldwide release, it was reported that pirated copies of the film were leaked online in various file-sharing sites.[43] The Indian Express reported that although the leaked copies were available only in the darknet, lots of fake links were being circulated in the web. The makers of the film had approached Madras High Court in anticipation of piracy and had requested the authority to ensure that it does not happen.[44] The Times of India reported that the producers of the film were urging the fans of the film not to watch the film online.[45]
CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani commented on the issue by saying that the leak had nothing to do with his office in Mumbai and reiterated the fact that Kabali, a Tamil film, was certified by CBFC's Chennai office. He also added that the leak would not have much effect on the film's box office collection.[45]
Music
Think Music has acquired the audio rights for the Tamil version, as well as the dubbed Telugu and Hindi versions.[46] The original Tamil soundtrack album featuring five songs was released on 12 June 2016.[47] According to Thanu, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, who usually sings the introduction songs of films starring Rajinikanth, was not hired for this album because he was not in the city at the time of recording.[48]
