Directed by Tarun Gope, the Tamil film Kaalai (meaning bull) starring Silambarasan, Vedhika, Nila, Lal and Seema seems to be an unplanned assembly of chases, police encounters, hip-gyrations (you can't call them dances), cacophony and choreographed fights using a set of actors sans any purpose.

One bad guy stalking the daughter of a crooked cop is bumped off. The hero 'kidnaps' her to lure her father to his death (to avenge the murder of a relative) after a senseless waste of automobile fuel and huge crowds of extras.

That just about sums up the proceedings of Kaalai -- a name affixed to the film (even the fleeting shots of the bull look like an afterthought) aimed at cashing in on the bull-taming festival controversy in Tamil Nadu.

Seema is the only one who has some weight to her role but is martyred unnecessarily.

With a strange hairdo, Silambarasan is wasted in this silly movie. A song sung by him -- whose first two words translate in English as "little devil" (supposed to be a sweet nothing addressing his lady love) is an indication to the audience as to what the "little superstar" has done to his career by doing this inanity.

Commenting more on this huge gaffe by Gope would mean testing the readers' sensibilities.

Short of announcing a short recess for the tired audience (which assumes it anyway) the music is a pain to the ears.

Most of the multiplexes screening Kaalai are also featuring other Pongal releases. Therefore, the effort has indeed a use -- diverting traffic to the other films.

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