Title: Thug Life
Director: Mani Ratnam
Solid: Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George
Author: Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan
Score: 2/5
Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan TR starrer Thug Life has lastly hit the massive screens on June 5, 2025. The movie, directed by Mani Ratnam, marks his reunion with Haasan after the long-lasting Nayakan.
With the duo returning in a gangster motion drama as soon as once more, right here’s the Pinkvilla evaluation of the film.
The Plot:
Thug Life presents the story of Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker, a gangster whose shootout along with his rival ends in the loss of life of a person. This leaves the latter’s son and daughter stranded and separated from one another.
Amidst the chaos, Sakthivel and his brother, Manickam, undertake a younger Amaran, with the previous elevating him as his personal son. Years later, a conflicting prevalence takes place, resulting in the mafia kingpin’s imprisonment. Nonetheless, upon his return, the foster son is handled as the top as a substitute of him, resulting in animosity.
What transpires between the daddy and son on this violent world narrates the remainder of the story.
The Good:
Thug Life could have a veteran star like Kamal Haasan within the lead, however the present stealer with the efficiency was Silambarasan TR. Standing robust alongside a legend just like the Virumaandi actor, STR shone properly inside his area.
With Kamal Haasan having a superb and skillful portrayal of Sakthivel, the characters inside the world had been nuanced and grey-shaded. The glamorous narration, substantiated by the stylization, makes the movie an entertaining enterprise.
Regardless of having flaws with its writing, AR Rahman, along with his highly effective album and distinctive soundtrack, as soon as once more proves why he’s thought of the GOAT. The musician has managed to craft a musical bouquet, with every monitor having a definite persona, despite the fact that the movie is a gangster enterprise.
As Ravi Ok Chandran helmed the cinematography, he should be credited most for the fashionable visuals that seize the viewers’s consideration.
The Dangerous:
Thug Life was overrated earlier than launch, being the reunion of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan after Nayakan. Nonetheless, the event has fallen flat with their writing. The movie, which was meant to be a extra bold try at telling a fascinating gangster saga, didn’t make vital progress from a writing perspective.
Even with a number of fascinating characters, aided by a powerful solid, the area for them wasn’t given to be utterly fleshed out. A narrative on paper, which might have been grander if tailored into an online sequence, suffered from being simplified for the film area, taking hits from a writing perspective.
The cliched narratives that appear to be taken from the Nineteen Nineties of Tamil cinema make one query whether or not this was written by two legends like Haasan and Ratnam.
With poor transitions and a scarcity of momentum within the screenplay, the screenplay faces one other hit from enhancing requirements. Regardless of an award-winning editor like Sreekar Prasad dealing with the cuts, it felt extra like an amateurish try. Even track placements had been horrible, hitting the movie’s development.
The Performances:
Whereas Kamal Haasan’s writing could not have been the perfect on this movie, the 65-year-old actor nonetheless manages to remain energetic all through. His give up to portraying a personality like Sakthivel, a conflicting nature for that matter, makes him one of many few superstars who don’t depend on churning out the identical persona for every of his movies.
As talked about earlier, Silambarasan TR stunned essentially the most, making this movie a serious milestone in his profession, and hopefully, extra constant tasks will comply with.
Nonetheless, whereas Abhirami nonetheless charmed us equally to Virumaandi days, Trisha Krishnan was the most important letdown by way of efficiency requirements. Her character, regardless of being an fascinating one, was executed sheepishly, contemplating how her decisions in current movies are subpar, at greatest.
Watch the trailer of Thug Life
The Verdict:
Thug Life is nowhere near being the subsequent Nayakan, nor does it supersede it. Whereas the film has sure moments from an motion perspective, it lacks the aptitude that matches its substance, making it one of many weakest movies by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam.
Regardless that the movie will not be a complete miss from theaters, one ought to test it out when it hits the OTT area for the visuals.
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