Why Thug Life's biggest USP is Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan collaborating again

India Today

23-05-2025

It's hard to believe it has taken 37 years for two stalwarts of Indian cinema to collaborate once again. Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and the multi-hyphenate Kamal Haasan join forces for Thug Life.It's not the most obvious of titles to be associated with a film helmed by a 68-year-old (Ratnam) and 70-year-old (Haasan), but then Ratnam proclaimed at the Hindi trailer launch in Mumbai: 'We are Gen Z, so it works.' The title, he noted, was Haasan's suggestion and one he was happy to go with.advertisementWhile they didn't delve into the reasons for the long interval since Nayakan, the mutual admiration was on full display. Haasan said the 'most exciting part of Thug Life was working with Mani—automatically all things happen', while Ratnam waxed eloquent about Haasan's cinematic abilities. 'He adds so much value to a scene; you see it grow in front of your eyes. As a director, you can take a backseat and see a scene grow.'Haasan is also the co-writer and co-producer of the film, which features Simbu, Trisha, Joju George, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan and Nasser. Ratnam described the film as an 'emotional drama within a world of crime'. With a soundtrack by A.R. Rahman and participation of the likes of Mahesh Manjrekar, Ali Fazal and Sanya Malhotra, the film (hitting screens on June 5) stands as the first of the big pan-India releases of 2025.advertisement
Much of the chatter was centred around Ratnam and Haasan. For Trisha, who has worked separately with both, it was like returning to school. 'The anticipation of seeing them together, how would it be working with them, was exciting,' she said. 'They would speak with their eyes and are in total sync with each other. We all had to stop staring at them and do our work.'For Simbu, sharing screen space with Haasan, whom he equated to a 'screen guru' since childhood, was a 'special feeling'. 'I was a little nervous at the beginning, but then they (Ratnam and Haasan) make you comfortable,' he said. About his character, who going by the trailer is at crossroads with Haasan's, he said: 'He has a kind of pain. It is very important to maintain.'Action set pieces high on testosterone and screams dominated the trailer, but Ratnam emphasised on the need for an 'emotional punch'. 'Masters like Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa have told us that action need not be less lyrical. That sets a bar,' he said.There was some nostalgia-tripping too as Haasan recalled their journey—from he and Ratnam living in the same area and being part of a friend circle that would discuss cinema to shooting Nayakan in Colaba in then Bombay and meeting Ramesh Sippy on that trip.advertisementAfter the failure of Indian 2, Haasan would be hoping that Thug Life is a course correction and return to form. Who better than his friend and acclaimed filmmaker Ratnam to help him fulfil that objective?Subscribe to India Today Magazine