It’s been a fortnight since the Rajinikanth-starrer and Pa Ranjith-helmed Kaala hit the screens. Rajini fans thronged theatres to be part of the ‘First Day First Show’ brouhaha, with sly comparisons being made between Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Nayakan and Kaala, and verdict about the film being splashed in the media and audience asking the real Rajinikanth to stand up.
Parallelly, there’s another drama brewing outside that packs a potent punch much like the protagonist in Ranjith’s film. To outline Kaala’s story, a person flees Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) to reach the Dharavi slum in Mumbai and becomes a powerful don. That’s because the story in question corresponds to S Thiraviam Nadar’s life, who wielded power as a don in Dharavi for 30 years. Nadar was on brotherly terms with the other reigning don, Varadarajan Mudaliar, on whom Nayakan was made. Surely, another case of reel life, mirroring real life!
But director Ranjith has steadfastly stuck to his guns, claiming it is a fictional account, unwittingly thrusting the don’s family—his daughter Vijaylakshmi Nadar and brother Jawahar Nadar, both journalists—into the spotlight. “I thought my father’s story died with him. He passed away in 2003 and we never thought of him as someone great, rather a very good man. As children, it was normal for us to wake up to 200-300 people lined up at the door with us scooting through them to reach school on time. But we did find it irritating as it interfered in our time with dad,” says Vijaylakshmi, who along with brother has slapped a `100-crore defamation case against Ranjith.
The first clue came when Ranjith in an interview let out about the protagonist going from Tirunelveli to Mumbai. “Dons are not manufactured every day. And of the three dons of that time—Varadarajan Mudaliar, Haji Mastan and my father, who were from Tamil Nadu—only the latter hailed from Tirunelveli,” says the Texas-based Vijaylakshmi.
Secondly, the teasers of the movie cleared away all doubts. “I was literally shaking. Rajini looked like my father. The jeep with the licence plate showing the figure 1956 was another giveaway. In 1956, my dad had come to Mumbai,” she says.
To Ranjith pointing out that the film is set in present-day Dharavi, Vijaylakshmi maintains that no story of Dharavi can be complete without a mention of her father. “He has left his landmarks there,” she says.
Ranjith has tried some clever manipulations. For instance, showing Rajini’s father Vengaiyam as the man who created Dharavi. “But Rajini’s mannerisms, dialogue, everything is my father’s,” she says. “Who carries swords today in Dharavi,” she questions of the happenings in the film. “My dad took sword cuts on his wrist.”
“Those days only those dons who had crimes against their names were famous. But my father was a simple man and did not fit the media’s idea of a don,” she says.
Many questioned Vijayalakshmi as to why she did not file a case earlier. “I have been writing about this for the past one year. But people started paying attention only when the `100-crore damage claim came into the picture. They called my brother for a compromise,” she says. Although the Madras High Court dismissed the petition against the release of Kaala, Vijaylakshmi says, “It’s not over yet, we will fight. Kaala has awakened us to our father’s legacy. I know it’s my father’s story.”