Madras Talkies, Raaj Kamal Films International and Red Giant Movies’ Thug Life (dubbed from the Tamil film of the same name; UA) is a gangster action drama film.
Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan have written a story which is as routine as routine can be. It offers no novelty whatsoever as such stories have been seen in earlier gangster films. The duo’s screenplay is also predictable. There is nothing which one hasn’t seen in an earlier film or which comes as a surprise or a shock to the viewers. Also, there are too many characters in the film, and since most of them are played by South Indian (mainly Tamil) film actors, it becomes difficult for the Hindi-speaking audience to have their faces and character names registered in their minds. Another minus point of the screenplay is that the drama delves into the back stories of several characters, which serves to bore the audience. There are many long-drawn-out scenes, which again test the viewers’ patience. Although a gangster film, it also tackles the family drama of the gangsters and underworld dons, but the unfortunate part is that the proceedings fail to touch the heart. In other words, the emotional quotient is missing. Since there are no light moments, the film is a long tension-ridden drama, making it tedious. Sajeev Sarathie’s dialogues are absolutely commonplace.
Kamal Haasan does an excellent job as Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker. But he dominates the scene almost all through the film, making it boring at times. Trisha Krishnan looks pretty and acts quite well in the role of Indrani. But she gets limited scope. T.R. Silambarasan is superb as Amar. Abhirami lends dignity to the character of Sakthivel’s wife, Jeeva. Nassar makes his presence felt as Rangaraaya Manickam Naicker. Mahesh Manjrekar has his moments as don Sadanand. Aishwarya Lekshmi lives the role of Anna/Chandra. Ashok Selvan is okay as police officer Jai Royappa. Sanjana Krishnamoorthy is effective as Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker’s daughter, Mangai. Ali Fazal is okay as Sadanand’s nephew, Deepak. Rohit Saraf looks handsome and leaves a mark as Sadanand’s nephew, Raanu. Joju George is alright as Pathros. Tanikella Bharani (as Sivagaru), S. Vadivukkarasi (as Pechiyamma), Vaiyapuri, Arjun Chidambaram, Chetan, Bucks and Baburaj (as Samuel Royappa) lend nice support. Sanya Malhotra is impressive in a special appearance in a song-dance number. Others are adequate.
Mani Ratnam’s direction is okay. He has made a technically excellent film and some of his directorial touches are very good, but overall, the narration fails to hold the audience’s attention for long. A.R. Rahman’s music is ordinary. Lyrics (Mehboob, Shuba, Prashanth Venkat and M.C. Heam) are average. Song picturisations (by Kruti Mahesh) are so-so. A.R. Rahman’s background music is good at times only. Ravi K. Chandran’s cinematography is of a high standard. Anbariv’s action and stunt scenes are quite thrilling. Production designing (by Sharmishtha Roy) is good. A. Sreekar Prasad’s editing ought to have been sharper. Dubbing is very nice.
On the whole, Thug Life is a dull fare and will not be able to make a mark at the ticket windows.
Released on 5-6-’25 at Inox (4 shows; in daily 2 shows from 6-6-’25) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: fair. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was not up to the mark.
