Can Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman combo in Thug Life lift the fortunes of Kollywood?

Actor Kamal Haasan, director Mani Ratnam, Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman and Trisha at the first single of the movie Thug Life in Chennai on Friday
| Photo Credit:
Bijoy Ghosh

Three big names in the film world – actor Kamal Haasan, director Mani Ratnam and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman – have joined hands to make Thug Life – a gangster action-drama Tamil movie. Can this big banner movie uplift the Tamil cinema industry, which has been facing a dull moment for the last couple of years?

It is learnt that nearly ₹300 crore has been spent on making the Tamil movie, which will be dubbed in multiple languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam.

With three mega stars in the Tamil film industry coming together, there are large expectations from the movie; let’s wait till June to see how it’s, a film critic said.

The Tamil film industry in the last couple of years has not seen a grand budget movie after Ponniyan Selvan. GOAT, starring actor Vijay, hit the screens in September 2024 and is learnt to have grossed over 450 crores at the box office. This was followed by Amaran, starring Sivakarthikeyan produced by Kamal Haasan’s Rajkamal, which is said to have grossed over ₹350 crore at the box office. All other movies have been far behind, according to multiple agencies tracking the film industry.

On Friday, the first single of the movie was launched, while the audio launch will happen on May 16. A musical promotional event will take place in Australia, with AR Rahman’s special performance.

Thug Life also saw the reunion of Haasan and Ratnam after 38 years when both worked in Nayakan, one of the greatest Tamil movies. “We have been waiting to collaborate for over three decades to come together,” said Haasan at the launch of the film’s teaser, trailer and a single. “There is no major change in working with him then and now,” he added.

Ratnam said working with a talented actor like Haasan makes it easy for a director as he need not teach him how to act. Half of the worry was gone while working with him, he added.

Co-written by Ratnam and Haasan, Thug Life has a star-studded ensemble, including TR Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Sanya Malhotra and Nassar.

Produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies, Thug Life will be released in theatres worldwide on June 5.

Published on April 18, 2025