Thug Life X review: Kamal Haasan's film is unconventional, gives goosebumps
Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam's 'Thug Life' has got social media abuzz with all kinds of reviews. While a section of the audience seems mighty impressed with the screenplay, the visual effects and the solid performances by Haasan and Silambarasan TR, another section thinks it's just an average entertainer.One user on social media criticised the alleged negative promotion of the film and wrote in the review, "The movie is just too good. Guys don't believe negative reviews They are paid reviewers from other regions just go and watch with family. It gives goosebumps in theatres #KamalHasan king always kin (sic)."advertisementAnother user who watched the film's first day-first show, wrote that the film 'lags' in between despite starting on a strong note. His review of the first half of the film read, "#ThugLife Review FIRST HALF Decent. Starts well but then gets into some lags. #KamalHaasan shines and his De-Ageing is neatly done. #SilamabarasanTR is fire. Technical Aspects (clapping emoji), Music (thumbs up), Supporting Cast(victory emoji)."Check what people on X are saying about 'Thug Life':
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'Thug Life' has hit the screens amid a grand buzz, and a huge controversy following Haasan's 'Kannada is born out of Tamil' remark. The Mani Ratnam directorial has been banned in Karnataka.However, most trade experts suggest that the decision is going to hardly impact the film's overall box office run. While speaking to India Today, the trade experts predicted a Rs 30-40 crore opening for the film on Thursday all across the country, with Rs 20-25 crore from the Tamil market alone.Tune InTrending Reel
IN THIS STORY#Kamal Haasan
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
‘Malai koothu', the street play of Malaiyali tribes in Dharmapuri, Tirupathur districts
In the sprawling landscaped compound of the Kadavu Nachiamman Temple of Nilavur in the Yelagiri Hills, a 'malai koothu' on Haribalan-Sivabalan Sandai was about to open. On that new moon night, the audience had arrived for the temple festival from as far as Jolarpet. They would stay up till dawn. 'Here comes 'Boppan' for the opening Act.' 'Boppan', the buffoon, makes an entry in a jazzy orange outfit, prancing up and down to the blaring but often indiscernible vocals. The buffoon jumps, gets whipped, pretends to scare children seated on the ground, gets whipped again. As the night advanced, a section of the audience dozes off with banners for blankets, while a few elders keep themselves warm, crouched beneath woollen blankets. An artist hurls profanities at Maradhanda Asuran, causing giggles, and falls on the lap of an old woman in the audience after a pretence-chase by Maradhanda Asuran. A ploy to keep the audience awake on that chilly night. Tearful monologue Haribalan-Sivabalan Sandai opens with Maradhanda Asuran and his daughter Sillingi, and Sillingi's sons Haribalan and Sivabalan conceived of a boon from Lord Siva, according to mythology. Sillingi, played by an old man draped in a sari and a wig, comes out to narrate her story. Sillingi's tearful monologue is interrupted when a visibly moved old woman, gets up and pins a currency note to Sillingi's sari at the shoulder. This would be the last act for this season from the Tamil month of Thai to Aadi. 'Malai koothu', a form of 'therukoothu' (street play), a seemingly plebeian art, is culturally moored in the lives of the inhabitants of the hills — the Malaiyali tribes of Dharmapuri and the Javadhu and Yelagiri Hills in Tirupathur. It is also an expression of social cohesion and is primarily performed as a temple dance form in the hills. 'We perform 'koothu' for temple festivals, births and deaths, and marriages,' says K. Govindasamy, former president of the Adhanur panchayat comprising 14 villages of the Yelagiri Hills. The 75-year-old is a veteran 'koothu' artist. He runs the Kadhavu Nachiamman Koothu Kuzhu that trains artists at Nilavur village. 'We did not allow film songs to contaminate the form,' he says. In the hills, the performers are high pitched so as to reach a larger assembly of audience while performing with no mikes, something that the artists from the plains find hard to emulate, says A. Thirumalaisami, an artist and researcher from the family of 'therukoothu' artists in the plains in Krishnagiri. The 'koothu' centres around The Mahabharata and the Puranas. The story-telling revolves around Draupathi. The art form is closely associated with the regions that worship Draupathiamman in a dedicated temple, with a puritan style of performance seen in Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, and Cuddalore districts. 'The Therkathiya Bani (the southern style) is different from the Vadakathiya Bani (the northern style) seen in Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts. 'Vanniya Puranam can be performed by anyone here; but in Tiruvannamalai, troupes comprising only Vanniyars perform it,' he explains. Starting out as a dancing girl 'I learnt to read and write because of the 'koothu',' says Siriran, a septuagenarian artist and 'koothu' teacher in the Javadhu Hills. He dropped out of school in Class 1 to graze cattle. 'When I was 13, I joined a 'koothu' troupe as a dancing girl. That was my first role.' Soon, he learnt to read and write by reading dialogues during the act. Today, he runs the Adiparasakthi Nadaga Kuzhu in the Pungampathunadu panchayat in the Javadhu Hills. Mr. Siriran never dons the role of 'asuran '. 'I did it twice, but I don't feel good opposing the gods. I have donned the roles of Krishna, Siva, Arjunan, and Dharmar.' The epical roles are seen as self-fulfilling and expression of the righteousness of the performing artists. 'You want to learn the art, when you see someone don the paint and mouth a dialogue to win over the audience. The young boys always want to perform a 'woman's act',' says Mr. Siriran. Value in attire 'Malai koothu' artists do not see themselves as commercial artists, unless they are called to perform. Unlike the 'therukoothu' artists, 'malai koothu' artists see value in the perfect attire that wins over the audience. 'We spend about ₹15,000 for stitching our costumes. If we keep it safe, it can last 3-4 years. In the hills, we cannot rent clothes as the artists do in the towns. We do our own make-up, and we pay a value for our costumes since our art is in our costumes,' he says. In the Yelagiri Hills dotted by high-end resorts, the employment for the artists often come from the ever-growing hospitality construction projects, when 'koothu' falls silent during the lean season that begins with the monsoon. But, in the remote villages of the Javadhu Hills with its marginal landholdings, the adult population is largely away in cities for construction work. 'When there is a festival, we send word and the artists return,' says Mr. Siriran. A troupe of 15 may get paid ₹25,000-₹30,000. Good artists are called by 'troupe companies' in the plains. If 'koothu' and 'koothadi' are invoked as pejorative terms for those outside its experience, the art form is sacred for its practitioners. 'Malai koothu' has come a long way, but not the 'koothadi'. 'Back then, a burning log propped up in between a splintered bamboo held up on two sides would light up the 'koothu' all through the night. Then came the kerosene torch and the Petromax lamps,' says Mr. Govindasamy. For the artist, the precarity remains. There is the constant struggle to keep the audience engaged and strike a balance between the pleasure of pursuit of an art form that caters to an already struggling people and making a living by other gainful jobs.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Roadies XX Winner Kushal Tanwar Aka Gullu gets a grand welcome in Gurgaon
After three months of intense fight and tough competition, Roadies XX came to an end with Kushal Tanwar Aka Gullu being declared as the winner. Gullu, who was a part of Elvish Yadav's team received Part Rs 10 lakh as prize money and motor bike. While Gullu became the winner, Hartaaj Singh Gill from Prince Narula's gang emerged as the first runner-up. After the show concluded, Kushal headed home to his family where he got a grand welcome. Kushal Tanwar posted a video showcasing a celebratory car rally arranged by him and his friends to mark his recent win. The group was all smiles as they danced joyfully, celebrating the moment with full enthusiasm. View this post on Instagram A post shared by KUSHAL TANWAR (@ After Kushal was declared as the winner, his gang leader Elvish shared a post on Instagram congratulating him. He wrote, "I'm completely overwhelmed with emotions right now! I'm thrilled to announce that my brother Kushal Tanwar (Gullu) and I have WON the season of Roadies Double Cross! This journey has been an incredible ride, and I'm so grateful to have shared it with my bro! We did it, Gullu." After winning the trophy, Kushal aka Gulla had expressed his excitement and said, "Winning Roadies Double Cross wasn't just a title — it was a silent scream finally heard. There was no support, no guiding hand, no one to lift me when I was down. I went through it all alone. This win is more than a trophy. It's a symbol — for every person who's ever felt alone, who's ever been told they're not enough. I walked this path by myself, but I never gave up. And that's what this victory is: not fame, not glory — but proof that even when you have nothing, you can still become everything." Sonu Sood on Roadies 18: Didn't get angry at contestants but learnt from them Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages and quotes !
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Breaking: Female Star Foolishly Assumes She's An Equal - On Deepika-Vanga Clash
In an industry notorious for headlessly moving from one weekly release to another, Bollywood's guarded diplomacy was disrupted by two news pieces last month. An actor exited a popular franchise, prompting the co-actor to sue him for crores of rupees. And then, reports of a famous actress dropping out of an upcoming film started swirling in media circles. None of these are extraordinary events, but in the curated times we have come to inhabit, where perception is reality, disagreements unravelling in the public domain felt rare - reminiscent of a time when celebrity spats and reunions were documented for posterity. This feeling of nostalgia was sealed when the embittered filmmaker criticised the said actress on social media. The year is 2025, but who can tell? In the early weeks of May, several media outlets reported that Deepika Padukone was to play the female lead opposite Prabhas in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's upcoming pan-India film, Spirit. What seemed like a conjecture awaiting confirmation fell through spectacularly in the next couple of days. The same websites carried a follow-up. Padukone was no longer part of the project. Multiple reasons were cited: her alleged ask of Rs 40 crore with profit sharing, refusal to work for more than six hours and speaking Telugu dialogues. The filmmaker deemed these demands "unprofessional" and dropped her. The Usual Vanga Script Although the actress issued no statement before or after the news broke out, Vanga took only two days to confirm Tripti Dimri as the female lead of his film. Fan clubs fought it out on social media and Vanga struck again. He took to X and put out a more elaborate comment, this time accusing Padukone of playing "dirty PR games" and leaking the plot of the film. "I put years of hard work behind my craft & for me, filmmaking is everything. You didn't get it. You won't get it. You will never get it," read a part of his tweet. No names were mentioned, but the identity was laid bare. Maintaining silence still, Padukone shared a short clip on her Instagram, talking about the importance of being authentic. It was from an event she attended, but fans were quick to point out that Vanga was the target audience. Since then, noise around the matter has only amplified. Social media is clogged with opinions; a journalist who had extensively reported on Spirit, including some extraneous plot details, had to tweet that his reportage was informed by his own sources and not anyone's PR. The incident has assumed such dramatic inflexions that it could be straight out of Vanga's films, all of which feature volatile male protagonists unable to handle rejection. Sample the premise: slighted by a woman, man rages in public. Media, on the other hand, is busy assigning sides. In promotional events, actors and directors are being queried about the feasibility of working shorter shifts, and many (including actor Ajay Devgn and filmmaker Mani Ratnam) are rallying behind the practice. The consensus is this: Padukone is a young mother (having birthed her daughter in September last year) and right in seeking work-life balance. Only Love For Men But gauging the rationality of her requirements feels superfluous. Nothing Padukone asked for hasn't been asked before. Top actors in Hindi cinema, as do elsewhere, have stakes in the film's earnings in addition to their fees. The arrangement works on the assumption that being brands themselves, they confirm returns. Equally familiar is the conversation around time. Many Bollywood actors openly speak about the stringency - or not - of their schedules. Akshay Kumar's early-morning shifts and his co-actors working around it is a widely known fact, as is the one that Shah Rukh Khan arrives late on sets. On chat shows, particulars of their routine are shared as anecdotes. Kumar is lauded for being disciplined, while Khan is treated with an indulgence one would reserve for a child. The adoration remained undimmed even when the actor brought in Atlee, who hitherto made Tamil films, to direct Jawan (2023). Khan, also the producer, spoke in Hindi, as did Nayanthara, a superstar down south. The Telugu and Tamil versions were simultaneously released, but his portions were dubbed. Granted, a filmmaker is within their rights to be specific about their wants of an actor, but such a plethora of precedents normalises Padukone's demands, revealing them to be reiterations. Then what makes the actress "unprofessional" and her male counterparts agreeable? Presumably her gender. It's The Market, Silly The Hindi film industry, like most workspaces, is deeply stratified. Gender disparity manifests in women having less screen time, being offered decorative roles and paid less than the male protagonists. Exceptions exist, but in the last couple of years, Bollywood has leaned on hyper masculinity with fuller force. Every time actresses have spoken up against the system and narratives prioritising men, 'well-meaning' actors and producers have argued that it all boils down to bankability and market forces. In an old interview, Aamir Khan had famously said that the day an actress can fill in more seats than him, she will be paid more. Bringing together a pan-India superstar and a global icon, albeit not the first time, Spirit could have been the litmus test. Remember Padmaavat? Padukone is the brightest star today in the firmament of Indian cinema. In her close to two-decade career, the actress has achieved everything there is to be achieved. Films headlined by her have done exceptional business, and so have those in which she featured with other actors. She has been consistently successful for a decade; she has been successful even when others around her haven't. In 2018, her lone face featured on the poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat, a practice so rare that it only made sense when reports confirmed she was paid more than the two male leads. The film earned approximately Rs 550 crore worldwide, a practice that Padukone's later outings have only perpetuated. For instance, her last three features have done business of Rs 2,000 crore and more. She also endorses a litany of national and international brands. She is the brand ambassador of global luxury brands like Cartier and Louis Vuitton, and in 2022, served as one of the jury members at the Cannes Film Festival. All this might read like Wikipedia entries, but they affirm her indisputable market viability. For context, this is the actress who put forth certain demands and a filmmaker known for appeasing the bruised male egos of the country, turned her down. Padukone, with her enviable box office record and extensive appeal, asked for things that men have been asking for decades, and Vanga, maker of three films comprising one remake, was unhappy enough to be vocal about it. The discourse, therefore, should be less about dissecting the morality or technicality of Padukone's wants, and more about discussing the possibility of women wanting things. The question should not be if the actress, with a baby at home, was right in wanting to work for six hours and be paid for extra labour, but if there will ever be a right time for actresses to want things? How more successful do women need to be for their demands to be deemed adequate and not excessive? More crucially, is inequality a problem that can be solved or a reality being actively glossed over? None Of This Matters If there is inherent prejudice in the way things unfolded, it only intensified when Vanga outraged in public. His complaint of Padukone and her PR disclosing the plot of Spirit, though impossible to ratify, holds little water. All that is known is that it will be an A-rated action film, which is as much a spoiler for a Vanga project as is John Abraham playing a male saviour in his next outing. But in the larger picture, none of this matters. Not the veracity of his claims, nor the specificity of Padukone's contract. Their names don't matter and nor does the fate of Spirit. What is critical is this fresh but not by any measure the first evidence of bias in an industry that allows women to break the glass ceiling but not shatter it; enjoy their success but not earn dividends on it. The year - I keep forgetting - is 2025.
