All about Thug Life

One of this year’s most anticipated Indian films is the gangster action drama Thug Life. 

This momentous collaboration reunites legendary producer-director Mani Ratnam with iconic actor Kamal Haasan for the first time since their path-breaking 1987 film Nayakan.

The big-budget Tamil language film, which will also be dubbed in multiple languages, looks set to make a massive impact when it is released globally next Thursday (5). Although the project remains shrouded in secrecy, Eastern Eye uncovered some fascinating facts about it.

  Mani Ratnam

■ Thug Life has been co-written and coproduced by Ratnam and Haasan.

■ It is Haasan’s 234th film and the first by Ratnam to have an English-language title.

■ One reason it took Ratnam and Haasan so long to collaborate again was their struggle to find a script worthy of Nayakan. Haasan revealed Thug Life is based on one of his older scripts, which he modernised with Ratnam.

■ The writing and preproduction process took four months. Ratnam said, “After many years, I got a chance to work with Kamal again. It’s not that he’s a brilliant actor; it’s the fact that he loves cinema. I admire how he balances mainstream cinema with experimental cinema. When he’s acting, half the burden of the director is reduced.”

■ In addition to co-writing, co-producing and acting, Haasan contributed to the music by writing lyrics for the song Jinguchaa, described as a wedding anthem.

■ Film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Ravi Mohan and Gautham Karthik were initially cast in key supporting roles, but they left the project due to scheduling conflicts.

■ The eclectic cast is drawn from across Indian cinema. Bollywood actors Sanya Malhotra and Ali Fazal make their Tamil-language debuts in this film. Haasan said, “The story has numerous characters, played by exceptionally talented actors from Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cinema. We have all sorts of great talent, and each is capable of holding the film on their own.”

■ Other key supporting cast members include Trisha, Silambarasan, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Nassar, Pankaj Tripathi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tanikella Bharani, Vadivukkarasi, Chinni Jayanth, Vaiyapuri, Bagavathi Perumal, Rohit Saraf, Arjun Chidambaram, Chetan and Rajshri Deshpande.

■ AR Rahman noted that the film is unlike Nayakan. He said, “Thug Life is a completely different beast. It is a very forwardthinking film, especially when it comes to its music.”

■ The dream team of Ratnam and Rahman are collaborating for the 19th time on this project. Rahman is providing both the songs and background score.

■ The film’s powerhouse crew includes acclaimed cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, award-winning editor A Sreekar Prasad, production designer Sharmishta Roy and leading action director duo Anbariv.

■ Filming took place across India, including Chennai, Kanchipuram, Pondicherry, New Delhi and other parts of north India Netflix has reportedly acquired the film’s streaming rights for around £12.8 million.