Thug Life, the much-hyped collaboration between master director Mani Ratnam and veteran thespian Kamal Haasan, has failed to live up to expectations. Hyped as a reunion of the legendary Nayakan pair, the movie failed to win the hearts of people and turned out to be both a critical and commercial flop, leaving the fans and professionals in disappointment.
While technically sound and ambitious in design, Thug Life failed to connect on an emotional level. Audiences expecting a cinematic treasure along the lines of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan’s earlier masterpieces were disappointed by its below-par plot and underdeveloped character trajectory. The outcome: a movie that failed to connect and could not meet expectations.
Reacting to the criticism, Mani Ratnam recently gave his take on the reception of the film.
“Never did we try to remake Nayakan. That chapter was closed. Thug Life was an experimental new attempt. But the viewers had something else in mind. The mismatch between what we had in mind and what they envisioned resulted in this.”
While Mani Ratnam has already turned his attention to his future projects, the news is that Kamal Haasan has distanced himself from public life. Sources close to the actor indicate that he was hurt badly by the film’s flop, given that he had emotionally invested in the film. To date, Kamal is keeping away from new film commitments.
To add to all of this, reports suggest that the Thug Life OTT deal is being reviewed in light of the film’s underwhelming box office.
