Thug Life

पुलिस और गुंडों की गोलीबारी में एक शरीफ आदमी मारा गया। उसके बेटे को एक गैंग्सटर ने पाला-पोसा। गैंग्सटर जब जेल जाने लगा तो उस बच्चे को अपना वारिस बना गया। गैंग्सटर के बड़े भाई को बुरा लगा तो उसने उस बच्चे के कान भरने शुरू कर दिए। एक दिन उस गैंग्स्टर के अपने ही उसके खिलाफ हो गए। लेकिन उस गैंग्स्टर की यमराज से दोस्ती है। वह लौटा और उसने सबका बदला लिया। ऊपर बताए गए कहानी के ढांचे में पांच मुख्य बिंदु हैं-1-शरीफ आदमी की मौत, जिसके बच्चे को गैंग्स्टर ने पाला, 2-गैंग्स्टर का जेल जाना, 3-उस बच्चे को वारिस बनाना, जिससे भाई जल-भुन गया 4-उसके अपनों का उस पर हमला और 5-उसका लौट कर बदला लेना। इस फिल्म को देखिए तो इन सभी बिंदुओं की बुनियाद इस कदर कमज़ोर दिखाई देती है कि हैरानी होती है कि इस फिल्म को लिखने वालों में खुद कमल हासन और मणिरत्नम भी हैं। ज़रा-सा भी दिमाग लगाते ही इस फिल्म की लिखाई की सिलाई उधड़ने लगती है। 1-उस शरीफ आदमी का मारा जाना अचानक से ठूंसा गया लगता है, अखबार बच्चे बांट रहे थे और गोली बेवजह चली, 2-गैंग्सटर जिस अपराध के लिए जेल जा रहा था, वह साबित कैसे हुआ होगा? 3-जेल जाते समय उसने भाई की बजाय उस बच्चे को ही वारिस क्यों चुना, फिल्म नहीं दिखा पाती, 4-जहां पर गैंग्स्टर के अपनों ने उस पर हमला किया, वहां जाने का प्लान जबरन घुसेड़ा गया लगता है और 5-अंत में गैंग्स्टर उस बच्चे को एक बात बताने जाता है लेकिन बताने की बजाय वह उसे मारे ही जा रहा है, मारे ही जा रहा है, आखिर क्यों?

The spiel amounts to thuggery: director Mani Ratnam and actor Kamal Hassan took 38 years to come together again after Nayakan (1987) because it took them that long to find a subject that would match the class of their iconic outing. Additionally, there’s a tale about how many decades Kamal took to write one of his favourite stories which was put on the backburner until Mani and he collaborated on it. Mani rewrote and polished it, the two cinematic geniuses from Tamil Nadu put their heads together and finally pooled their names to produce their next ‘gem’. It was to be titled Kamal Haasan 234 as it would be his landmark 234th film. But voila, it became Thug Life and here it is. But you wish they’d prolonged the 38 years of separation by never coming together again if the weary story of a Yama-defying gangster is all they could come up with.

Blood, Brotherhood, Betrayal. From the time world cinema began to be fascinated by the lives of gangsters, these three words have been the bedrock of every iteration of their story. More often than not, these gangsters escape the long arms of the law only to find themselves on the wrong end of the gun barrel. Godfather was no different. Nayakan was no different. And even if we thought otherwise, or were told otherwise, Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life, after a point, is no different. But till we reach that point, the film is a fascinating exploration of the life of an ageing gangster coming to terms with his frailties, and dealing with the same with sardonic wit and insatiable lust. But then, suddenly, Thug Life wants to become a revenge drama fuelled by age-old reasons for betrayal that makes you wonder… Is this really the Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan film we were waiting for?

It is not prudent to use business terms for art but as this concerns mainstream commercial cinema anyway, here we are. Usually, a Mani Ratnam film promises minimum guarantee. No matter what the film has in store — it works, meanders, dips or is politically dubious — there is always something cinematic, something inspired scattered here and there. Something you can take home, something you can watch in isolation years later. A shot, a stray scene or line or exchange that we can search on YouTube long after the release of the film. Kadal has some exquisite kinetic shotmaking. Guru is magical in some of its interpersonal dynamics. Thiruda Thiruda, for all its vacuousness, is a great ride and rarely a slog. Kaatru Veliyidai at its core has a wonderful premise that is lifelike and probed with intent even if timidly. So far Chekka Chivantha Vaanam was that odd one out with hardly a Mani Ratnam stamp. But here we are: as celebrated as Nayakan is and will remain forever, Mani Ratnam’s weakest film, for now, is his second collaboration with Kamal Haasan — Thug Life.

Thug Life, also because of its such an English title, is the most unusual, borderline bizarre, film from master director Mani Ratnam’s repertoire. Add Kamal Haasan’s unique understanding of the milieu, where he oscillates between Vellu and Grandmaster Shifuji, and you have a strange film in front of you that would remind you of cinematic brilliance like The Godfather, Kill Bill and Gangs of Wasseypur. For such an artistic piece of work, it’s not easy for anyone to take a stand on whether they liked it for its distinctiveness or disliked it for the same reason! However, in between the cinema hall and my writing desk, I have decided to like it. So, from here onwards, I will be trying my best to drive home my point, even at the cost of sounding a little biased at times. It’s Mani Ratnam after all!