Trisha calls Kamal Haasan her mentor: ‘I feel like I grew up with Mani Ratnam'
Actor Trisha Krishnan has opened about her experience with superstar Kamal Haasan, actor Silambarasan TR and director Mani Ratnam in their upcoming movie Thug Life. The actor has revealed that working on the sets of Thug Life felt like a 'safe space' in a new interview.
Trisha, who was last seen in Good Bad Ugly, collaborated with Kamal for the 2010 romantic comedy Manmadhan Ambu and then later in Thoongaa Vanam, which was released in 2015. The actor has also worked with Silambarasan TR in the hit romantic film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which was released in 2010. The two actors also starred together in the 2003 film Alai.
In an interview with India Today, Trisha said, "I have known Simbu and Kamal sir for several years now, and it was quite easy for me. In my film career, Kamal sir has been a mentor to me. Simbu and I have done two films, and we have known each other for a long time. When I entered the film set, it felt like a safe space for me. I have built a comfort level with everyone, even with Mani sir."
The 42-year-old star has also worked with director Mani Ratnam in Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2. She said that working with Mani almost felt like she grew up with him.
"Doing Ponniyin Selvan after doing Aayutha Ezhuthu helped me understand Mani sir more. I feel like I grew up with him. I was trained by the best. Working with someone repeatedly helps you form a bond or understand each other better. He now knows what and how to extract from me. I have comfort with him. You are both in sync than you have before," she added.
Thug Life stars Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR, Trisha, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Sanya Malhotra, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Baburaj. It will be released in theatres on June 5.
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Thug Life's box office collection day 7 (live): Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam's film slows down
'Thug Life,' starring and directed by , hit the screen on 5 June 2025 with large-scale expectations. The highly anticipated film opened with a net of an impressive ₹ 15.5 crore on 1 day, mainly thanks to Tamil Nadu's contribution of ₹ 13.35 crore. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, despite the grand opening, the film received a mixed response from the audience. While many praised its ambitious realm and artistic execution, others found its narrative style less attractive, especially in non-nominees, where the Telugu and Hindi versions were brought only in a minor number. Sharp drop and low occupancy After a strong start, 'Thug Life' experienced a significant decline in the collection, earning 7.15 crores on day 2, which was a 53% decline according to Sacnilk. The film recovered a little with ₹ 7.75 crore on Saturday and then again to ₹ 6.5 crore on Sunday. Workdays were difficult: Monday's ₹ 2.3 crore declined to ₹ 1.77 crore on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, only 0.35 crore. The film's week one reached a total of ₹ 41.32 crores. Tamil occupancy on day 7 was 13.14% less, with less than 14% registration at noon and morning, showing a weak occupancy. Despite a talented actors' contingent and Mani Ratnam's direction, the film's cerebral tone and large-scale elements deficiency have limited its box office legs. The plot, cast, and what lies ahead 'Thug Life' tells the story of Rangaraaya Naicker, who is a person who returns to his violent roots on emotional levels of identity and justice. Kamal Haasan led the actors in the lead roles along with Silambarasan, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Jujo George, and Gautham Karthik. With music scored by AR Rahman, cinematography by Ravi K Chandran, and editing by Srikar Prasad, the film has top-level technical cleverness. However, the box office trajectory now depends on its second-weekend performance and foreign reception, as the film reduces interest in domestic cinemas.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
The OTT Window: From Fixed Plan to Reactionary Tactics
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Indian Express
4 hours ago
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What happens when a classic director chases the reels generation? The answer is Mani Ratnam's ‘Thug Life'
Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and actor Kamal Haasan collaborated last for Nayakan in 1987. The film was a blockbuster and continues to remain a high point in both their careers. Though Nayakan was heavily borrowed from Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather (1972), the performances, music and visual style allowed it to carve an iconic space in Tamil film history. And it continues to influence young filmmakers in various ways until now. So when the filmmaker and actor announced their coming together after 37 years, there was immense expectation for their new film Thug Life. However, post the very first show, the film has been uniformly panned by both critics and audiences. Ratnam's films were once inspired by Hollywood and Japanese cinema. But Thug Life shockingly comes across as a poor imitation of a Lokesh Kanagaraj film. There might have been a time in the past when it was enjoyable to indulge in a philosophical banter over whether cinema imitates life or life imitates cinema. But that debate is officially extinct today. Today, we wonder if cinema imitates YouTube videos or Instagram reels. Going by the attention span of the audience that has consistently been dropping, it is quite clear that the reels format is winning this game. In an effort to nail the blockbuster, young filmmakers like Kanagaraj (Vikram, 2022), Karthik Subbaraj (Retro, 2025), Nelson Dilipkumar (Jailer, 2023) and Adhik Ravichandran (Good Bad Ugly, 2025) are increasingly making films that resemble a compilation of unrelated Insta reels — but each delivering an adrenaline punch. In the process, storytelling, character development, narrative progression and emotional connection are all gladly sacrificed to keep the audience engaged at every moment. This is achieved through recurring sequences of extreme violence, action and bloodshed, adrenaline-filled, often illogical, twists and turns in the narrative, reusing iconic Ilaiyaraaja or Deva's songs from the '80s and '90s, hat-tipping moments from old classic films of the same male star and a post-climax surprise scene that should mandatorily hint at a potential sequel. So, instead of narrating a story that gradually builds to the climax, what we witness is a series of climaxes. This is the equivalent of doing away with a five-course meal and replacing every course with different desserts for a sugar rush. While this often tends to exhaust the audience by the end of the film, it does help in keeping them completely engaged throughout its running time. In his effort to compete with contemporary filmmakers, Mani Ratnam has chosen to make an anti-Mani Ratnam film this time. While he was lauded in the past for exhibiting his mastery over the amalgamation of light, sound and emotion, he has chosen to do away with it in Thug Life. Instead, he has attempted to make a reel-collage film. However, Thug Life proves that the filmmaker is still caught up in the old world of emotion and drama and might not be fully convinced by the new kind of filmmaking. In particular, he doesn't seem to relish violence or going over-the-top as much as contemporary filmmakers do. So, in trying to find a balance between the old-world emotional drama and the new-world adrenaline rush, his new film lands neither here nor there. It completely lacks emotional connection, but at the same time, the filmmaker's understatedness fails to offer the thrills of an over-the-top film. While it might be considered blasphemy to make this comparison, when one contrasts Thug Life with Ravichandran's Good Bad Ugly, it is evident why the former failed with the audience. Ravichandran's film was unabashed in its quest to thrill the audience. It willingly buries story and emotion under the deep ocean and focuses primarily on being deliciously over-the-top. It managed to create both a charm and an element of irony where it both hero-worshipped and parodied its male star. Unfortunately, Mani Ratnam's film has no such takeaway. Instead, in its greedy effort to have the cake and eat it too, it falls flat. The writer is a Chennai-based filmmaker
