The British Film Institute’s prestigious Sight and Sound magazine has included the Tamil film Kaala in its list of the 25 Films of the Century.
Directed by Pa. Ranjith, the film stars the legendary Rajinikanth in the lead role.
To acknowledge the best film of the 21st century in terms of visuals and sound, BFI has selected 25 films from across languages, each taken from the year 2000 to 2024. Kaala is the only Indian film to be named among the 25 films by the magazine.
Released in 2018, Kaala revolves around Karikaalan (Rajinikanth), a don in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai, who fights against the oppression and land-grabbing efforts of powerful politicians and corporations.
“From our vantage point in 2024, we sit one-quarter of the way through the 21st century. To acknowledge this milestone, Sight and Sound have enlisted the help of 25 critics, asking each to nominate a film that is significant within our cinematic era – the kind of film that could be put into a time capsule for the cinephiles of the 22nd century and beyond to marvel at, a movie that is both representative of and a high watermark of the years 2000 to 2024,” read the post on BFI about the 25 films.
In addition to Rajinikanth, Kaala also stars Huma Qureshi, Eshwri Rao, Nana Patekar, Manikandan, and Samuthirakani.
Meanwhile, Rajinikanth will next be seen in the films Vettaiyan and Coolie.
SS Rajamouli speaks about filming the intense Varanasi Ramayana sequence with Mahesh Babu X/@imdeepakdwivedi/Getty Images 
