Rama Krishna Sangem
‘Thug Life’ is stylish, beautiful camera work, Mani Ratnam direction, AR Rahman music and starring of Kamal Haasan, Trisha, Silambarasan and many others from different languages. High octane scenes and picturesque backgrounds etc; Still the movie failed to make major impact that is expected from a Kamal Haasan movie. Don’t’ forget, this is his 234th film!
A major reason for this tepid response is weak storyline and pale screenplay. The movie is made on a medium range budget of Rs 180 crore, including star remunerations, but by the third day, Saturday, it made just Rs 30 crore, which is paltry, in present super start movies standards. The film may recover its costs, by all sources. But it cannot escape the poor talk.
Kamal is sure to enter Rajya Sabha as MP with the backing of DMK and we all expected that the movie would be a welcome blast! That didn’t happen. Part produced and part-story written by Kamal himself, Thug Life, is full of comical twists and turns, in a drama that is filled with high emotions and heavy one-liners. The movie is all the way Kamal Haasan’s, just as his all other films.
Hype not matched audience response
Kamal Haasan’s much-hyped film Thug Life has hit the screens with massive expectations, but the box office numbers tell a mixed tale. Released across Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi on a Thursday, the film saw a promising start with a solid opening day collection of Rs 15.5 crore net in India. The majority of the revenue came from the Tamil version (Rs 13.35 crore), followed by Telugu (Rs 1.5 crore) and Hindi (Rs 0.65 crore), reflecting strong interest in the southern markets.
Drop in Collections on Day 2
However, the momentum didn’t sustain. On its second day (June 6), the collections dropped drastically by 54%, bringing in only Rs 7.13 crore. The Tamil version once again led the way with Rs 6.32 crore, but the noticeable dip indicated that the film struggled to maintain footfall after the initial buzz. While such a drop is not uncommon for non-weekend releases, it was still steeper than expected for a star-driven project.
Day 3, poor collections
Saturday further disappointed trade trackers with an even sharper decline. Thug Life managed to collect just Rs 1.25 crore on Day 3, suggesting that word-of-mouth and repeat audience engagement may be lacking. This brought the total domestic net collection to Rs 23.88 crore over three days—far from ideal for a film mounted on a big budget and carrying the brand names of Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam.
Mixed Talk & quick reviews hit the movie
Thug Life, basically a Tamil-language gangster action drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, who co-wrote the script with Kamal Haasan. Produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies, the film stars Haasan, alongside an ensemble cast of Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Rohit Saraf and Baburaj. It marks the reunion of Haasan and Ratnam after their previous collaboration, Nayakan (1987).
The film was announced in November 2022 under the tentative title Kamal Haasan 234, as it is Haasan’s 234th film as a lead actor, and the official title was revealed a year later. Shooting of the movie started January to December 2024 in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Pondicherry, New Delhi, and parts of North India. The film’s music was composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography handled by Ravi K. Chandran, and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.
Aging action hero image
If we observe recent films of Kamal Haasan, it is clear that he is keen on building an aging hero image for himself. Be it Vikram or Bharatiyudu, it wants to mix his romantic hero image with that of high action. Stylized on The God Father model, he, in Thug Life too tried to create don with heart image. But, we fail to connect with twists and turns in the film – for why they happened. Strong characters with silly story subplots. Only die heard Kamal Haasan’s fans alone can enjoy the movie. And they are there!
