Thug Life Movie Review: Kamal Haasan’s gangster saga is stylish but falls flat on impact

Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan TR starrer Thug Life has finally hit the big screens on June 5, 2025. The film, directed by Mani Ratnam, marks his reunion with Haasan after the iconic Nayakan.

With the duo returning in a gangster action drama once again, here’s the Pinkvilla review of the movie.

The Plot:

Thug Life presents the tale of Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker, a gangster whose shootout with his rival results in the death of a man. This leaves the latter’s son and daughter stranded and separated from each other.

Amidst the chaos, Sakthivel and his brother, Manickam, adopt a young Amaran, with the former raising him as his own son. Years later, a conflicting occurrence takes place, leading to the mafia kingpin's imprisonment. However, upon his return, the foster son is treated as the head instead of him, leading to animosity.

What transpires between the father and son in this violent world narrates the rest of the tale.

The Good:

Thug Life may have a veteran star like Kamal Haasan in the lead, but the show stealer with the performance was Silambarasan TR. Standing strong alongside a legend like the Virumaandi actor, STR shone well within his space.

With Kamal Haasan having a brilliant and skillful portrayal of Sakthivel, the characters within the world were nuanced and grey-shaded. The glamorous narration, substantiated by the stylization, makes the film an entertaining venture.

Despite having flaws with its writing, AR Rahman, with his powerful album and exceptional soundtrack, once again proves why he is considered the GOAT. The musician has managed to craft a musical bouquet, with each track having a distinct personality, even though the film is a gangster venture.

As Ravi K Chandran helmed the cinematography, he must be credited most for the stylish visuals that capture the audience’s attention.

The Bad:

Thug Life was hyped up before release, being the reunion of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan after Nayakan. However, the occasion has fallen flat with their writing. The film, which was intended to be a more ambitious attempt at telling an engaging gangster saga, did not make significant progress from a writing perspective.

Even with several interesting characters, aided by a magnificent cast, the space for them wasn’t given to be completely fleshed out. A story on paper, which would have been grander if adapted into a web series, suffered from being simplified for the movie space, taking hits from a writing perspective.

The cliched narratives that seem to be taken from the 1990s of Tamil cinema make one question whether this was written by two legends like Haasan and Ratnam.

With poor transitions and a lack of momentum in the screenplay, the screenplay faces another hit from editing standards. Despite an award-winning editor like Sreekar Prasad handling the cuts, it felt more like an amateurish attempt. Even song placements were terrible, hitting the film’s progression.

The Performances:

While Kamal Haasan’s writing may not have been the best in this film, the 65-year-old actor still manages to stay energetic throughout. His surrender to portraying a character like Sakthivel, a conflicting nature for that matter, makes him one of the few superstars who don’t rely on churning out the same personality for each of his films.

As mentioned earlier, Silambarasan TR surprised the most, making this film a major milestone in his career, and hopefully, more consistent projects will follow.

However, while Abhirami still charmed us similarly to Virumaandi days, Trisha Krishnan was the major letdown in terms of performance standards. Her character, despite being an interesting one, was executed sheepishly, considering how her choices in recent films are subpar, at best.

Watch the trailer of Thug Life

The Verdict:

Thug Life is nowhere close to being the next Nayakan, nor does it supersede it. While the movie has certain moments from an action perspective, it lacks the flair that matches its substance, making it one of the weakest films by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam.

Even though the film may not be a total miss from theaters, one should check it out when it hits the OTT space for the visuals.

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