Karikaalan consistently fights to keep the people of Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, safe from the clutches of mighty politicians and the land mafia don, Hari Dhadha.
Direction
Ranjith weaponizes Rajini's image for radical politics.
Cinematography
Dharavi shot like a living, breathing character.
Production
The rain-drenched climax is pure visual thunder.
Director
Pa. Ranjith
Rajinikanth
Karikaalan Vengaiyan 'Kaala'
Nana Patekar
Haridev Abhayankar 'Hari Dhadha'
Easwari Rao
Selvi Karikaalan
Huma Qureshi
Zareena
Samuthirakani
Vaaliyappan
Anjali Patil
Charumathi 'Puyal'
Manikandan
Lenin
Dhileban
Selvam
Nithish Veera
Kathiravan
Aruldoss
MLA
Aravind Akash
Shivaji Gaekwod Rao
Sayaji Shinde
Minister
Sampath Raj
Vishnu Bhai
Ravi Kale
Sunil
Pankaj Tripathi
SP Pankaj Patil
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ranjith, a Dalit director, deliberately cast Rajinikanth — a Marathi-born, Karnataka-raised superstar — to embody Tamil Dravidian identity and subvert his 'white knight' persona.
The film released during real Tamil Nadu protests over Sterlite copper plant pollution, making its land-grab narrative uncomfortably prescient.
IN
