Kamal Haasan interview: On ‘Thug Life', AI in cinema and his unrealised projects

The Hindu

7 days ago

In October 2024, during the promotional activities of Sivakarthikeyan-Sai Pallavi-starrer Amaran at Chennai's Raajkamal Films International (RKFI) office, the person missing from the thick of things was none other than the film's producer: Kamal Haasan.
'Avar US ku padikka poitaar (He has gone to the US to study),' said someone at his office, referring to the actor's decision to take off to the United States of America to study artificial intelligence.
At 70, with multiple awards and films in several languages to his credit, Kamal Haasan might be widely regarded as one of the best actors in the country. He, however, still considers himself a 'student', which prompted his decision to set aside time to study artificial intelligence, curious about its use in his field of work.
'We are all part luddites. That's our problem,' says the actor, 'That's why I have the naivety to say that I want to learn AI. They kept asking me what exactly I want to learn – which is when I realised there are so many verticals in the film industry itself.'
Kamal vouches to keep learning more – which, he hopes, will help him streamline his current film assignments and probably aid in executing his dream projects. 'We are still not good with scheduling and budgeting. We are not good with compartmentalising and delegating. AI will take away the chore in the job and the thinking person inside you has a better chance,' he says.
In the US, Kamal Haasan visited the Perplexity AI headquarters, interacting extensively with its CEO, Aravind Srinivas. He also attended NAB 2025 in Las Vegas, which showcased how AI technologies could enhance storytelling and streamline production processes. 'I have never studied in a classroom, so my study continues,' he tells us.
It did – on the sets of his upcoming film, Thug Life, as well. The film marks the coming together of Kamal Haasan and ace director Mani Ratnam after three decades; their last outing was Nayakan (1987), one of Tamil cinema's biggest classics. 'Both of us have evolved since then,' he says, 'He (Mani Ratnam) changed the landscape of Tamil cinema, which influenced filmmaking across India. I believe that the more ethnic you become, the more international you become – this is a quote that Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (director-screenwriter) is quite fond of, and I picked it up from him.'
Kamal is probably referring to the globe-trotting action drama in Thug Life, in which he plays a gangster named Rangaraya Sakthivel, prompting fans to discuss a possible Nayakan link to the current film (Kamal's name in the 1987 film was Sakthivel 'Velu' Naicker). 'Thug Life will make you forget Nayakan. Otherwise, we are not doing our jobs well. Maybe chronologically you can say Nayakan and Thug Life, but out of appreciation, it should be the other way round,' says Kamal.
He describes the film as an 'extension of his life'. 'I've been both; I have lived a life and have been a thug in my teens. The kinetic energy will push you to do wrong things when you're young...most people in college do it. I've never been to college, so I might have just been a cruder thug. I'm not proud of it, though.'
Thug Life has music by AR Rahman, whose music is quite different from Ilaiyaraaja, Kamal Haasan's collaborator for a long time. What was the difference? 'With Ilaiyaraaja's songs, I was immediately able to say, 'Oh yes, I like this.' But it was different with Rahman. I remember listening to 'Kappaleri Poyachu' from Indian (1996)for the first time. I just shrugged, because it was just him singing with a beatbox. But when I saw the final version of the song, ending with 'Saare Jahaan Se Acha'... it blew my mind,' recalls Kamal, who believes that his music should be classified as 'slow nectar' than 'slow poison'.
Debuting as a child actor in Kalathur Kannama (1960) when he was just five, Kamal Haasan has acted with generations of actors – from the late thespian Sivaji Ganesan to Silambarasan. Considering his vast experience in front of the camera, did he give his Thug Life co-stars Silambarasan, Ashok Selvan and Trisha an acting tip or two? 'My guru was K Balachander (late director), but he did not teach me. He gave me an opportunity and in conversation, I picked up skills. That's how it should be done.'
While the actor's upcoming roster suggests more adrenaline-pumping moments – he has a film with stunt masters-turned-directors Anbariv scheduled next – there is also a growing clamour among fans for Kamal to return to the comedy genre, for which he successfully teamed up with the late comedian-writer Crazy Mohan on many films, like Avvai Shanmughi and Panchathanthiram, among others. 'I don't miss him, because he has left a lot of him in me. Without work, we spoke with each other every day about everything under the sun, including ideologies, puranas and yayatis,' recalls Kamal Haasan.
So, will a comedy subject surface sometime soon? 'Humour is not fast food. You must add so many condiments and serve,' he says.
Post Thug Life, the promotions of which are keeping him busy at the moment, Kamal Haasan will move on to other projects. Other than his immediate film commitments, the actor-director also wishes to explore ways to execute his unrealised projects, such as Marmayogi, Sabaash Naidu and Marudhunayagam.
Malayalam actor Joju George recently mentioned that Kamal Haasan's iPad has more than 400 scripts, something that the Thug Life actor smilingly dismisses as an 'exaggeration'. 'I might have around 30. And some more, which are not yet completed,' he reveals, 'There's one lying with me titled Suryadhaagam, which revolves around an established Godman and his ascent into a living God. It's a bit like Caligula (Roman Emperor), who did not die a good death. My story does not do into that, but it talks about the morbidity of man's hubris.'