A Rajinikanth movie should always be a reason for celebration for both fans and his theatre owners. Every time his movie release, there is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding the project, and you can really expect earth-shattering collections at least in the first couple of days. However, you cannot blame yourself for not feeling the same amount of hype for his upcoming movie, Kaala, that is scheduled to release on June 7. Yes, Thalaiva's die-hard fans are selling the movie as much as they can, but compared to the heat, his last movie Kabali has generated, the buzz is a lot low now.

This is not a sentiment that only we have. Even the theatre-owners across Tamil Nadu, Rajinikanth's favourite playing ground, are echoing the same sentiment. In an article in Film Companion, Nikilesh Surya, Executive Director of Rohini Silver Screens, told the website, "The buzz is definitely low, compared to Kabali, Mersal and even Vivegam. The release date isn’t ideal as schools are now re-opening. The general audience doesn’t even seem to be aware that Kaala is releasing, actually. This reflects in the online bookings."

In this special feature, we will look at five potential reasons as to why Kaala is failing to create the required buzz that a Rajinikanth movie demands.

Low buzz promotions

For a movie as big as Kaala, the promotions don't match the stature of the movie. Agreed that, thanks to the month-long strike of the film industry in Tamil Nadu hampered the promotional plans of the movie, but the makers of Kaala still had May to create the needed buzz. But with more focus on one teaser and later a short trailer, it feels like they think their job is done and they are relying on Rajinikanth's charisma to push the movie. Even the songs are not creating enough hype!

The Kabali space

Leaving aside the fact that Rajinikanth plays a leader-type figure in both the movies with mob connections, directed by the same man (Pa Ranjith), there is a lot to compare Kaala with Kabali. Even the tone feels same. However, the biggest factor to consider is that despite the groundbreaking collections that Kabali had earned during its opening week, the movie had underperformed at the box office with its lifetime collections owing to its weak script and violent content. So the viewers do have some trepidation about Kaala when considering this aspect. Which leads us to...

Thalaiva's waning pull

There is no denying that Rajinikanth's superstar power is still going strong, considering his massive fan following. But his box office report card talks of a different story altogether. Even if we consider Kabali a big hit, Rajinikanth had seen two big flops between the Pa Ranjith movie and 2010's Enthiran, viz. the motion capture film, Kochadaiiyaan and the masala entertainer Lingaa. While Thalaiva was a majeure de force in the '90s and the last decade, his current box office standing is below that of Ajith and Vijay.

Rajinikanth's political stance

Rajinikanth's much-awaited entry into politics, something we have always expected for years, was mixed with mixed reactions. While his followers have stood by him, there are others who feel that the superstar is misguided in his political ambitions. It doesn't help that his recent comments on the anti-Sterlite killings met with adverse reactions. S Sridhar, joint secretary of Tamil Nadu Theatres Owners Association, told DNA, "There are multiple factors that might have led to the lacklustre response for Kaala's tickets booking. Lack of publicity for the movie. The decision to release the movie on June 7, which is a Thursday after the schools and college reopened. Also, Rajinikanth's comments on Thoothukudi police firing incident. All these might have impacted the bookings." He also revealed that Kaala would only release in 500 screens across the state, despite the total capacity of 1180 screens. There is also the fact that Rajinikanth's stance on the Cauvery issue has made Karnataka ban the release of Kaala in their state. So Rajini the politician is actually turning an enemy to Rajini the superstar.

Alternative to 2.0?

Even before Kaala was announced, one Rajinikanth movie that fans were really excited about was 2.0. The sci-fi movie ran on the tremendous hype for being the sequel to Enthiran, the promise of big special effects and Akshay Kumar's casting as a villain. Alas, the movie is going through a lot of post-production woes, with even the lead stars now not talking about the film. Kaala was supposed to come after 2.0, but now it feels like an escapist alternative to a movie that we really wanted to see.

While the above points may still sound depressing, there is still a lot to hope for. Nikilesh Surya also revealed this to Film Companion, "On the positive side, the terms are very nominal with MGs (minimum guarantee payments) not as high as previous Rajini films. We are also getting a lot of inquiries for bulk bookings from corporate offices and fan clubs. Such bulk bookings are seen only for the Superstar’s films."

There is also the fact that Kaala has got good reactions from the Censor Board screening, with reports claiming that the movie is racy and entertaining. So will Rajinikanth's latest film subvert all expectations to turn out to be a huge hit? June 7 will answer that for us!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2018 10:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).