Thug Life

Action Crime Drama Tamil

In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manickam rescue a young boy, Amaran, during a violent police shootout and raise him as their own. Years later, when an assassination attempt shakes Sakthivel's empire, suspicion turns inward. Consumed by vengeance, Sakthivel sets out to destroy the very family he once built.

Cast:	Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Abhirami, Nassar
Director:	Mani Ratnam
Writer:	Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan
Editor:	Sreekar Prasad
Camera:	Ravi K. Chandran

Guild Reviews

Legendary duo Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam create ‘unconventional’ magic

Rohit Vats | DNA

Thu, June 5 2025

What do you expect from a Mani Ratnam film? Thug Life is almost exactly the opposite of what you might have anticipated.

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!