Thug Life

Let me start with a quote from Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan himself:

"When mediocrity has been set as standard, rubbish is acceptable. Acceptable becomes extraordinary; and extraordinary becomes genius."

Yeah, Thug Life is beyond mediocrity and an undeniable career nadir for all involved!

This quote, uttered by the very man whose name graces the poster of Thug Life, serves as a cruel, ironic harbinger of what's to come. You see Kamal Haasan and Atman Silambarasan's names, and a tiny, foolish hope sparks in your heart. You think, "How can this film not be good?" And then you get this... rubbish!

It's not the absolute worst film ever made, but that quote, man, that quote just hits you in the face. All these big names, all this supposed "talent," teaming up. It should have been a novelty. Instead, it felt like some old sugar daddy ego trip between Kamal and Simbu, gushing over Trisha "Maami."

What the hell happened to Mani Ratnam? His schtick is so worn out. His movies these days have these weird, pathetic patterns, especially with the scandalous MANI affairs. Is he secretly living out his suppressed fantasies through his films?

And don't even get me started on the female characters. Trisha was total misfit, sounding like an utterly wasted side dish at a local bar. If she thinks she's ready for a gritty role like a femme fatale, or sex worker, she needs to spend some time in a beginner's acting class hit up YouTube and just study Anushka Shetty in Vaanam on repeat until she gets it. Well, Abhirami looked like she was mentally checked out.

The main reason I kept watching was, obviously, the cast. Both Kamal and Simbu are known as the godfathers of loquaciousness, reeking of solipsism (though STR has chilled out a bit lately).

My expectations were already six feet under, because I've never been a fan of Mani Ratnam's watered-down nonsense. He's made two or three decent ones, but most of his dozen-plus movies are stale, over-hyped duds. Who's keeping this guy relevant? The "elite film bros" who watch mainstream Thai arthouse or French New Wave and think anything with a "HONG SANG ZOOOOM" is KINO? He's still around because of these dumb bozos who hype him up. They're like a cult performing last rites for his career, claiming he's just "evolving."

Even the rest of the cast and crew's talent felt wasted. It was all so fake. I knew it right away from the initial scene where Nassar's daughter pregnant by some wannabe rockstar singing "liberty, liberty, liberty" like he's about to drop a Rage Against the Machine anthem? Gimme a break. Then she commits suicide, and of course, there's a Jim Morrison poster in her room. Seriously? What a poser's farewell. And these "elite bozos" think they're so cultured, flaunting their cheap bootleg shirts - Metallica, Bob Marley, Morrison, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, Beatles... all that tired mainstream garbage. "Hotel California" levels of basic.

The first half fleeting moments had its moments of sanity, which were, ironically, the only good parts. Even the thematic elements in the first half felt nice, with Shakthivel (Kamal) haunted by death, betrayal, guilt. This could have been so nice if explored well. The opening B&W episode was good, a brief glimpse. And the way Amar (Simbu) tells Shakti about Mangai's marriage proposal was staged well. For a second, the first half felt good with characters brewing distrust, almost planning each other's demise. But then it just fizzled out. The callback to Cheetah's Vivegam in the interval is inevitable here.

I really wanted more dialogue-driven scenes, maybe like a real Jia Zhangke flick, not just street fight and less moco-bot mayhem. And yeah, I appreciated some of the conversations. But honestly, there was nothing deep enough to make me care about the characters or anything they were blabbering about.

The action scenes? At some points, the film seemed like WWE backyard fights coming straight out of a teenage boy's juvenile imagination. The background score was terrible, and the songs got chopped up so badly, it was annoying even to AR Rahman Kannis.

In the end, Thug Life fails at everything it tries to be. It's not gritty, shocking, real, dark, entertaining, or original. It's just Kamal and Simbu's ego trip, barely holding this sinking ship together with duct tape. This is just KUPPAI (trash)! Fed up.

When you name a film Thug Life, a name chosen by the masters of cinema and filmmakers, and that too using a culturally iconic term like Thug Life, it comes with expectations. The term represents how society mistreats or neglects certain groups. That neglect creates cycles of violence, trauma, and systemic failure that hurt everyone.

The term is often glorified or associated with pride and criminal life, but it carries a much deeper meaning. It is about survival. So naturally, you can imagine the expectations and feelings it invokes.

You need to know that I am an ardent Mani Ratnam fan. My cultural and artistic foundations were built on his films. I grew up in a world of films where he dominated. He was my icon. But revered icon or not, a spade has to be called a spade.

Thug Life felt like self-indulgent hero worship. The screenplay was extremely weak, with absolutely no plot or motivation. Sure, it was well-made in terms of production value, but that is all. Mani Ratnam is known for being a master storyteller who uses layered plot points to drive a narrative and evoke emotion. Here, it was almost appalling to see the same man rely so heavily on expositions, so many of them, even for useless points. It felt insulting to a point.

Kamal probably had his fill. Like I said, this felt like self-indulgence, coming hot off Indian 2. If anyone gave a truly memorable performance, it was the women in the film. All of them except Trisha...and that is no fault of hers.

The only two saving graces were the cinematography and A. R. Rahman's music. Rahman went god level with the score.

It makes me so uncomfortable to say this, but this has got to be Mani Ratnam's worst film ever in terms of storytelling and narrative. I need to go watch Nayakan, Aayutha Ezhuthu, and Kannathil Muthamittal again to recover.

Yep, this is the weakest storytelling I've ever seen in a Mani Ratnam film. Even Kadal and Kaatru Veliyidai come across as better (storytelling) efforts in comparison. What the heck happened to Kamal Haasan? Just because Vikram worked, he's decidedly gone the "action hero" route, playing roles with zero emotional depth or connect. Rangaraya Sakthivel is a cardboard cutout, and so is the entire bunch of characters that revolve around him. The actors (Simbu and Joju George, especially) try their best to rise above the wafer-thin script, offering mild hopes in the first half. But you're in for the most generic revenge-action-drama in the second.

The action blocks (choreographed by Anbariv) are not individually terrible -- in fact, there are a couple of standout attempts, such as a train station fight and a car chase that concludes at the Red Fort, which are quite exciting. ARR's score was really oscillating both ways -- solid as well as subpar (the whole snow sequence had me cringing like hell). Some of the songs are good too, like Jinguchaa, adding a little zing to the overall dull proceedings. Anju Vanna Poove is such a nice track, but the way the film incorporates bits and pieces of it in a scattered way didn't win me over.

Thug Life starts solidly, with a well-done flashback sequence presented in monochrome. The de-aging work is appreciable too; I'm almost sensing a pattern here. In films that get the de-aging process right, the rest of the VFX (like an avalanche sequence) is often so shoddy. The characterizations of Indrani (Trisha), Amar (Simbu), and Dr. Anna (Aishwarya Lekshmi) only look fascinating on the surface. Deep down, they're all one-note with a specific purpose to fulfill.

DoP Ravi K Chandran offers some spectacular frames, though sadly, the film's screenplay doesn't do justice. I'm really appalled by (National Award Winner) Sreekar Prasad's edit work in the film; there's hardly any connective tissue between scenes. Everything is simply stacked together, with no sense of emotional understanding. The larger blame definitely goes to the script (co-written by Ratnam and Haasan), but still. What was even that embarrassment of a climax? Gosh.

I read previous reviews and I have my own opinion.

Thug Life is a decent picture but it lacks rivalry and conflict of stars.

The role of Amaran should have been attributed to a known bollywood figure to attract the mass.

Kamal Hassan alone with Mani Ratnam and music A R Rahman are not enough to attract the mass public.

Look at Rajnikant , being a greater Superstar , he always ensured to bag Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar , Suneil Shetty or Nana Patekar to enter the Bollywood circuit.

It's true that the movie lack the essence to entertain, music is quite flat and screenplay not only original but also predictable.

Really it's a waste of talent and time for the producers and makers.

Best luck for your future project.

Thug Life fails to live up to its hype, offering a predictable and disjointed narrative that lacks both emotional depth and originality. Despite Kamal Haasan's presence, the film suffers from weak writing, uninspired performances, and dialogues that feel forced rather than impactful. The pacing is uneven, dragging in places where it should thrill, and the action sequences, instead of adding excitement, come off as exaggerated and unconvincing. Visually underwhelming and poorly edited, the film lacks the grit and intensity one expects from a crime drama. Ultimately, Thug Life is a missed opportunity that leaves no lasting impression-neither entertaining nor meaningful.