Pre-release Talk: Mani Ratnam’s ‘Thug Life’

Posted on November 6, 2023

Copyright ©2023 BARADWAJ RANGAN.

Posted in: Cinema: Hindi, Cinema: Kannada, Cinema: Malayalam, Cinema: Tamil, Cinema: Telugu, Pre-release Talk

98 Responses “Pre-release Talk: Mani Ratnam’s ‘Thug Life’” →

Sri Prabhuram

November 6, 2023

The teaser looks interesting, but why would they name the movie “THUG LIFE”? Is this supposed to be funny? 🤨

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hari prasad

November 6, 2023

Maybe it literally means a life of an older thug.

But didn’t expect this as a name for a Mani Ratnam movie!!!

Out of all freaking directors.

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vijay

November 6, 2023

Looks like Moneyrathnam and Kamal want to do a me-too actioner, the flavour of the month genre ..with notes from Lokesh Kanakaraj.
This looks even scarier than the Indian-2 preview. Thug life? ROFL.

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therag

November 6, 2023

Dear lord, What is this slo-mo nonsense that is passed off as action? I hope we don’t see this in the actual movie.

I hope this is not just another gangster action film. I don’t have much faith in Kamal after Vikram and that Indian-2 abomination, but I hope Mani at least has done his homework.

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MANK

November 6, 2023

What the hell is this . Yakuza ? Rangaraya Sakthivel Naykar? well everybody is doing it (digging up stuff from the ’80s) so why not I, must be MR’s thinking

The title Thug Life sounds like a Nelson film and the visuals are from a Loki\Atlee film with all that super slow mo action.

Hmm i hope this is only for the trailer and the film is going to be something else

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anon

November 6, 2023

What the hell is this? Is this from Lokesh? Thug life? Mani saar why?

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hari prasad

November 6, 2023

I’m all in for a Yakuza themed , Kurosawa styled Mani action movie but come on….

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lurker

November 6, 2023

Action has never been MR’s forte, but given recent trends, being a violence-laced action movie, this may also go on to smash box office records. It’s clear from the title that it’s going to be in the ‘pan-Indian mass Padam’ template.

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anon

November 6, 2023

I expect all the old fogies on this blog (including me) hate it but it’s probably getting good traction from the “youth”. I guess the slow mo and the face bashing action is standard and normal much like dishoom dishoom was normal for us. Still, a terrible title. “thug life” a Mani Ratnam film. Ok.

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SorenKierky

November 6, 2023

Lokesh has done far better and interesting promos than this. Leo one was not as great as Vikram in retrospect but still good. This is just slowmo action with that LOG sort of color tone – nothing like a Mani film. Maybe just to get people intrigued IDK.
But title… BRUH. Why do people say Nelson would pick such a title, Nelson would never do this and would know that this title with this font would get mercilessly trolled regardless of whether or not this is about Thuggeees (looks like it).

Let’s see. I absolutely don’t trust Mani’s writing one bit, Kamal has co written the script apparently so IDK if Kamal’s hand would help or hurt the film here. Curious but not hyped.

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anon

November 6, 2023

KH has writing credit on this? Appada, we are saved somewhat.

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hari prasad

November 6, 2023

Apparently , the reason why Mani and Kamal named this as Thug Life is because of this nu solraanga.

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Naren

November 6, 2023

Is self-deprecating humour the latest trend now?! Because otherwise, I simply don’t understand what in hell’s bathroom would possess these people to come up with something like this. Seasoned filmmakers adopting the new age crap simply because they’ve deluded and convinced themselves that this is the only way to survive?! Verum kaaththu thaanga varuthu . . . this is INDIAN AIR FARCE.

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kaizokukeshav

November 6, 2023

For a second I thought KH is re-doing Maruthanaayagam with MR.

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madhusudhan194

November 6, 2023

This looks like a revival of Marudhanaayagam more than anything else. But yes, unlike anything Mani has done before. That’s scary and exciting at the same time. This is perhaps Mani’s closest attempt at recreating his idol Kurosawa’s work.

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madhusudhan194

November 6, 2023

Also pre-release talk? This is a pre-production talk.

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brangan

November 6, 2023

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers_(film)

I remember enjoying this film quite a bit when it was released (probably much later than innthe US, as was the norm those days)…

I look firward to MR/KH in an arena of grisly, pulpy fun!

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vijay

November 6, 2023

So this is the better script that Mani was waiting for, for 35 years since Nayagan? Interesting. Kamal anyways is on a money-making mission apparently to fund his (non-starter) political campaign or so we are told.

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anon

November 6, 2023

@vijay, I doubt it. Looks like a cash grab. Lately that’s all KH has been doing with movies and politics.

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kaizokukeshav

November 6, 2023

Also why does Shaktivel Nayagan rhyme with Muthuvel Pandian ?

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kaizokukeshav

November 6, 2023

*Nayakar

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KayKay

November 6, 2023

Yabba! What’s all this snark?

It’s Kamal-Mani-ARR

NOT Vijay-Atlee-Anirudh, unless that’s where the quality bar is set these days.

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Naren

November 6, 2023

BR, this is really pushing the true-blue movie lovers to the brink.

May I suggest an experiment where we can pitch in a list of stories, define structures and draft complete scripts, right down to the beats. We can figure out a democratic process to finalise the story and script. The objective is to draft a dream script which is coherent, taut and full of substance and not a mere pastiche of poorly stitched collage of disjointed video clips. Even if we should do a massala/cash cow/crowd pleaser we should still do one to beat them at their own game.

Maybe you can pitch it to producers and we can try to get it made with an ironclad creative control on our part. Multiple directors/screenwriters is not anything new.

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Sri Prabhuram

November 6, 2023

If that was the title of a Vijay-Atlee-Anirudh movie, we would still laugh at it, but we would brush it off since it’s not like they were ambitious to begin with.

But imagine Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan collaborating after Nayakan, and the title of the movie is “Thug Life.” How could anyone keep a straight face? (Yes, I’m still excited about the movie, but anyone who is not a cinephile will definitely make fun of the title).

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Ananth

November 6, 2023

Yabba what’s with the leftover 2000s Harris Female Chorus BGM. Other than that I’m reasonably excited that KH and MR can provide story and depth to the action movie genre.

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Satya

November 6, 2023

“Thug Life”?

Not bad, is it.

Unless you expected a “Naane Kettavaanaa?” or “Oru Kadaisi Velai”. Or something higher.

Wishing you all good luck. I though, being a Telugu cinema guy, know already how divided the response would truly be.

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Srinivas R

November 6, 2023

@BR, if the Decievers is the base idea, I am afraid, it will be meh. The film seems to have been panned universally when it released.

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Madan

November 7, 2023

I hope I and all of us in this thread shaking our heads in disbelief at this trailer will be proven wrong. But until then…what the actual f! I want to believe that the combination of KH-MR is going to deliver but the trailer screams mass. Oh well, it’s going to deliver after all….more Money (Ratnam) for Kamalahaasan.

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ravenus1

November 7, 2023

Looks like Mani Ratnam wasn’t satisfied with Feroz Khan shitting all over Nayakan with Dayavan. He wants to complete the job with a movie that forever taints your memory of the character name.

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vijee

November 7, 2023

Yakuza vera ya? Ya Kudha!

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Srinivas R

November 7, 2023

Not long ago, We had 96, CCV, Ratchasan, Vada Chennai, Asuravadham, Thimirupudichavan, Kaala etc all releasing in the same year. Not saying it was great art, but a good variety of movies.

Post pandemic everything is just mass. Every movie is a project that needs to complete in 6 months. So the writing, the making is all rushed. No wonder Slo mo mass is all we get.

I hoped the Success of Vikram (which I liked) and PS1 will mean more multi starrrer with well written characters but guess I was wrong.

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V

November 7, 2023

Well, I think MR had little to nothing to do with this promo clip. RKFI is a producer this (along with others) and I think KH drove this initiative to generate the buzz given his own success as well as what seems to be the trend.

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K

November 7, 2023

Let us not judge a movie just by its promo. Concept looks exciting. A kutra parambarai kind of story I guess. We cant expect an Iruvar/Uttama Villain kind of drama in this current scenario. Kamal has done everything. Let him also do this movie.

This looks much better compared to the jailer, Vikram, Leo kind of films that were released recently. I guess we all are done with that trend

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K

November 7, 2023

No one seems to care for a movie like Pebbles when its released in Sonyliv.

But when a Thuglife teaser drops tamil cinema looks very pathetic.

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K

November 7, 2023

When a movie like Pebbles released in Sonyliv it was not discussed anywhere. But Thug Life seems to remind everyone of the pathetic state of tamil cinema.

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anon

November 7, 2023

@K, The title promo looks EXACTLY like Jailer, vikram, Leo – that’s why the comments, not the other way around.

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MANK

November 7, 2023

I look forward to MR/KH in an arena of grisly, pulpy fun!

Brangan, looks like another pathbreaking ‘genre-specific’ Tamil action film loading 🙂

I quite enjoyed “The Deceivers” in a cheesy way- a pre-bond Pierce Brosnan as a British officer in brown makeup trying to pass off as an Indian, and Shashi Kapoor playing the villain. What I remember most from that film is a sex scene in a brothel where a spaced out Brosnan has these hallucinations about the women he is with turning into goddess Kali. 🙂 .

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Madan

November 7, 2023

V: You could be right that the promo was simply put together by KH but what does it say about the film if Mani is exerting so little control? I am worried that it means Mani will allow KH to ghost-direct the film. That worked out ok for Balu Mahendra on Sathy Leelavathy because it was a comedy and KH had Crazy at his peak in the team. Serious Kamal-naale bayam irukudhu pa – blade adichu thalaporare!

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anon

November 7, 2023

Rise of skywalker Thuglife (2024)
(2019) pic.twitter.com/kQB20aDgJO

— кαι ρυℓℓα (@KPM_Offi) November 6, 2023

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K

November 7, 2023

“That worked out ok for Balu Mahendra on Sathy Leelavathy,”

Except for climaxed, entire film only had the Balu Mahendra feel. It was even edited by Balu Mahendra which was a rarity at that point as every Rajkamal 90s film was edited by N P Satish. Kamal gave complete freedom to Balu Mahendra unlike Singeetham, K S Sethumadhavan who were directors for hire in Magalir Mattum, Nammavar.

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Madan

November 7, 2023

anon: Colour me shocked! I am glad Ilayaraja hasn’t succumbed yet to thks genre menace (which seems to be shorthand for slavishly imitating phoren films). But alas, he is just a music director. The other jambavans are losing faith in their own voice and want to simply appropriate what works. I mean, Vijay and Nelson can do that already, you don’t need Kamal and Mani for that. But maybe bro machi insta feel crowd doesn’t need Kamal and Mani, so they have to give them what they want.

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abishekspeare

November 7, 2023

What’s exactly wrong with going with the trend, as long as you sustain your individuality? This is just an intro video, and within itself it is pretty good – yes it seems massy, but so what?

As long as MR-KH make a movie that isn’t lazy , how does it matter? After all they are people who have time and again taken what the ‘mainstream’ format is and played with it. SRK was all the rage when Dil Se was made – but is Dil Se generic? AY was made when a lot of political thrillers were successful – was it generic?

Why are we canceling so quickly and easily?

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madhusudhan194

November 7, 2023

So much shock and reactions to a promo of a film that’s barely started shooting. I see a same pattern of initial negative knee jerk reactions which significantly changed once the film released – that was for Ponniyin selvan. It was pronounced doom even before it came out. Why are we so hyper? He could have easily made PS into another Bahubali but he stuck to his conviction. Why do we think we know better? And Who says Mani can’t get into territories unexplored by him? Time to grow out of the Iruvar hangover. Those days are gone.

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Aravindan R

November 7, 2023

Too early to comment based on an introduction reel.

But, somehow I am reminded of the below Moodhurai verse.

கான மயிலாடக் கண்டிருந்த வான்கோழி
தானு மதுவாகப் பாவித்துத் — தானுந்தன்
பொல்லாச் சிறகைவிரித் தாடினாற் போலுமே .. .. .

Except that in this case, it is the Mayil (MR) wanting to be the vaankozhi (young directors) .

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Madan

November 7, 2023

“What’s exactly wrong with going with the trend, as long as you sustain your individuality?” – Nothing wrong, but what IS the trend. Let’s take a stab at it.

Baahubali and RRR have action but they are defined by a grand scope and do not play to the lowbrow mass gallery. Mani freely acknowledged that SSR inspired him to make PS in two parts. Now that is a very positive example of a current trend, a current successful director inspiring a legend to take something from that trend and make it in his own style.

Another big and surprise hit Tamil film was Love Today. I know that got a very mixed reception on this blog, including from BR himself, but it was at least a very bold experiment that still fitted within a mainstream format (and I for one loved it!). I can’t address why people prefer worshipping the feet of septuagenarian or older male stars to outrageous irreverence but I’d at least expect two people as bold as Kamal or Mani to find some inspiration in that rather than tired old angry young man updates like KGF.

“This is just an intro video, and within itself it is pretty good – yes it seems massy, but so what?” You don’t need Kamal and Mani to make a mass film. Kamal is not known for Sakalakala Vallavan even if it was his biggest hit at the time. He is known for Moondram Pirai, Nayagan, Pushpak, AS, Guna, Hey Ram, Virumaandi. During the Vikram success meet, Kamal said the success of SV in 1982 created the space for the more experimental MP and said there was no reason why it couldn’t be done today as well. Well then, I am waiting. With not exactly bated breath as the Indian reboot suggests Kamal is in a Ramalingam Kaila Kaasu mode.

And as for the trailer, Kamal’s voiceover in it was super-cheesy. You may not agree with me and that’s your prerogative but I (and others) are allowed to judge the teaser. That’s what it’s put out for.

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abishekspeare

November 7, 2023

Madan: “You don’t need Kamal and Mani to make a mass film” – why not? I mean, mass is just a way of doing things right? Nayagan, AS and Virumaandi have mass moments too. Why can’t they make a damn good movie with mass moments?

I am completely with you on the Indian 2 teaser – I would be very surprised if it turns out good. The reason I feel that way is not only because of the fact that Shankar hasn’t made anything good for more than a decade, but also the fact that the teaser was all over the place. Unlike the Thug Life teaser which , in whatever mode it is set in, does justice to that vision. So yes, I am not against people judging movies by teasers. But if the teaser sets out to do ‘A’ and it does ‘A’, why do we STILL have a problem, is my question

“I’d at least expect two people as bold as Kamal or Mani to find some inspiration in that rather than tired old angry young man updates like KGF” – exactly my point. In other words, it’s not the what but the how right? If they pull off a well-made movie with well-designed mass moments, what’s the issue?

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Madan

November 7, 2023

“I mean, mass is just a way of doing things right? Nayagan, AS and Virumaandi have mass moments too. Why can’t they make a damn good movie with mass moments?” – They have mass moments within a masala framework. The tone is nowhere near as ‘hyped up’ as in actual mass movies of the last 15-20 years. Those three are movies which devote ample time to explore the characters’ motives and multiple facets of them, as opposed to which Vikram had Kamal alternatively mumbling and then ranting ‘drug free society saar’.

“But if the teaser sets out to do ‘A’ and it does ‘A’, why do we STILL have a problem, is my question” – Because to me (and clearly I am not alone), a mass movie done well (mass with its full connotations in the context of Tamil cinema as opposed to masala) is STILL a mass movie and is still fundamentally very low hanging fruit for people of the caliber of Kamal and Mani. I am sure a Fincher can direct a Transformers franchise movie and do it well, but do you really need Fincher to make that movie when his time can be better used in more complex and ambitious projects? It’s the stultifying lack of ambition involved here that I find disappointing.

“In other words, it’s not the what but the how right? If they pull off a well-made movie with well-designed mass moments, what’s the issue?” – No, it’s both to me. I don’t need a KGF-alike from Kamal and Mani however done well because it’s still KGF and can never be Nayagan, period.

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abishekspeare

November 7, 2023

“a mass movie done well (mass with its full connotations in the context of Tamil cinema as opposed to masala) is STILL a mass movie and is still fundamentally very low hanging fruit ”
Like I said – mass is just a mode of conveying and not the genre by itself right? In other terms, it’s not about Fincher making Transformers but about Fincher making Fight Club (which is very much a mass movie). I think you’re using genre and tone interchangeably.

Take the example of Godfather, Nayakan, and Sarkar. The tone is Godfather is not massy other than the last shot. In Nayakan, you have a few mass moments here and there. In Sarkar, there are much more of these mass moments. Now, all three movies work because the basic writing and film-making is good. Is Sarkar’s tone inferior as a mode of cinema just because it is massier?

Which brings me to my confusion – why can’t KH-MR have completely agreeable material, film-make the fuck out of it, and why can’t it have mass moments? What is so impure about it?

About your KGF example, if you strip out the mass moments , it is an extremely ordinary story with pretty generic writing. A lot of its success is purely because of its mass appeal, and not its writing or nuances. But it doesn’t mean that’s the only way a mass movie can be made? Take ‘War’ for example. It has solid AF writing and it incorporates mass moments into this writing. Why can’t this be like that?

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Madan

November 7, 2023

“In other terms, it’s not about Fincher making Transformers but about Fincher making Fight Club (which is very much a mass movie). I think you’re using genre and tone interchangeably.” – I wouldn’t call Fight Club a mass movie by any stretch of imagination. It’s way too avant-garde to fit into the mass movie basket. Like, can you imagine a Tamil mass movie as a remake of Fight Club succeeding in the BO? I certainly cannot. I think maybe the most far out movie in recent times that also had tremendous commercial success was Kabir Singh and even that isn’t in the ballpark of Fight Club which brings me to:

“It is an extremely ordinary story with pretty generic writing. A lot of its success is purely because of its mass appeal, and not its writing or nuances. ” – Indeed and nothing about the current state of commercial cinema whether in Hindi or Tamil tells me that the KH-MR flex is going to go to some Fight Club kind of space. It’s going to be a lot more like KGF. Maybe a slightly less flabby version of Vikram (I hope!). And as I wasn’t one of those who loved Vikram, excuse me for not feeling excited about this collaboration now. If anything, the tone of Kamal’s dialogue delivery in the trailer is even more massy, even more cringe than Vikram.

I will be very happy to be proven wrong but I am allowed to form my impressions and can’t help that you find them overly negative or whatever. If the movie they end up puts idk Goodfellas to shame, I will be delighted. I don’t see it at the moment.

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Naren

November 7, 2023

Promos r made to convey an idea about the movie, a theme, a treatment. Therefore it can’t be separated from the movie by simplifying that it’s just a promo.

First and foremost, the title is from the meme culture which makes it really hard for cinephiles to take it seriously.

Secondly, his costume, bears resemblance to the one in “Jawan”, while intentional or not, is inspired from “Moon Knight”. Similarities to comic books just like that sucks the reality out of the movie.

Thirdly, the action choreography, I have never ever taken kindly to gravity-defying stunts and even an endless barrage of arguments to the contrary is not going to make me budge the slightest. Also, the wretched slo-mos . . . I’m not averse to a well-timed and well-placed slo-mo shot here and there but these days the ridiculous overuse of it has been normalised. I mean, hasn’t anyone else suffered enuf from “Mafia: Chapter 1” where it was taken to the absolute extreme, to the point of being a plot device in itself?!

It’s not like either KH or MR is incapable of making a serious action scene . . .

Examples:-
1. The death of Inspector Kelkar in Nayagan
2. The action sequence between Surya and Ramana in Thalapathi or the death of Sub-Inspector Pazhanivel [IIRC] in the same
3. Mountain chase sequence in Roja
4. The scene from Thevar Magan where KH starts walking slowly behind the thug and they both gradually increase speed and then come to blows eventually

All of the above r well-grounded in reality or at the very least a lot more realistic than what is today. This is what conveys a serious tone even among the mass moments. I mean, try to compare the RPG scene in Kuruthipunal to Jailer and anyone shud be able to c the difference in seriousness between the two.

Finally, the same trend in slo-mo is being applied to the BGM as well . . . ridiculously overused . . . I actually cudn’t hear a few lines spoken in “Leo”. I still remember watching “Ghajini” with an unbelievable headache [for many reasons] because of the jarring speakers in Abirami. I wasn’t the only one suffering there.

I cud go on and on but here’s a good example of what I really expect from any movie . . . “Collateral” . . . the action scene in the night club “Fever” . . . Jamie Foxx and Mark Ruffalo eventually make it out of the club and BAM!!! . . . down goes Ruffalo. The entire Sathyam movie hall gasped in absolute unison. That’s what makes the movie and the theatre experience memorable even after NINETEEN years.

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Rambo

November 7, 2023

We shouldn’t forget the financial risks are now on a different scale. This movie is likely to spend a couple of 100 crores to be made and marketed. A flop can be ruinous. If you dont have full houses and 2000 screens on day 1 your ability to get that back is quite limited whether the movie is good or bad. And all the more so if its not great. Hence you need to start creating a buzz from before the movies hit the floors so that people throng to the cinemas even before the verdict is out. That way even a dud can get back 100 or 150cr and the loss is bearable. Which is why every movie has a victory party and amazing numbers after 3 days even if its a total dud and producer has lost money. So cant blame him for trying to create a buzz and sadly cant create one with something artsy – has to be some masalafied nonsense. Hopefully final film stays closer to a MR/KH combo.

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abishekspeare

November 7, 2023

“I will be very happy to be proven wrong but I am allowed to form my impressions and can’t help that you find them overly negative or whatever”

Bro, please chill, we’re only having a discussion and I’m not here to pick a fight. You know way, way, more about cinema than I ever will and I was just giving my opinion (like you were giving yours). I fully respect you, your comments, and am a fan. Hugs

Moving on, ” I wouldn’t call Fight Club a mass movie by any stretch of imagination” – I have been to many group viewings of it and it is definitely something that people scream and clap at. Especially the Brad Pitt scenes and the last 30 mins. Maybe it’s different as a solo watch but as a group experience – it’s nothing short of a mass movie

“Nothing about the current state of commercial cinema whether in Hindi or Tamil tells me that the KH-MR flex is going to go to some Fight Club kind of space. It’s going to be a lot more like KGF”. On top of my head, Sultan(Hindi), Maaveeran, War, RRR and Pathaan are recent movies which had mass moments incorporated organically on top of already good material. Love Today which you loved was a mass movie in many ways – it just didn’t have hero worship scenes. But the whole movie was designed such that the masses clap and scream and get a high at each scene. So when you say “It’s GOING TO BE a lot more like KGF”, why not give that benefit of doubt to two of the most versatile and out-of-the-box thinkers of Kollywood, and why make the “going to be” decision right away?

Folds hands in Virumaandi climax style

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anon

November 7, 2023

I think all the comments are really on the promo guys and not the yet to be shot film. The promo is supposed to give a flavour of what the film will be like. As promos go, this was generic and derivative. Is the film supposed to take place in a hellscape where people dress like they do in Star wars or Dune universe? Does MR have to use the same stunt coordinators as Lokesh and shoot a slowmo tiktok promo that looks like anybody from Lokesh to Nelson to Atlee could’ve made? Does ARR have to fuck up one more MR movie with his awful BGM? Answer to all these is yes.

In all seriousness, in addition to accommodating the tiktok gen, I wish ARR had been replaced also. Please don’t kill me.

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Madan

November 7, 2023

abhishekspeare: I am chill only. I just find it irritating why some of us are being pressed to express positive views, esp when it’s Kamal season. It’s getting a bit like “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it”. Well, I am going to just have my say. I am a Kamal and Mani film but whether with them or with Raja, my fandom is always contingent on whether they rise up to the quality I generally associate them with and not about looking very hard with a microscope to find something to like in it just because it bears their name. Maybe this film will rise up to KH-MR standards but as of now, this trailer (and when combined with THAT name, gawd that name) is a big meh.

OK, we understand the meaning of ‘mass’ very differently. I think what MAY elicit claps or whistles in a theater is so vast and subjective that it could indeed cover movies like TFC or Love Today. For me, mass means only and only movies where the hero becomes the very object and subject of the movie, the centre of the universe and therefore necessarily assumes a larger than life presence. When I say larger than life, I mean Udhayam theater Rajni poster size presence. When I hear dialogues being mouthed in a tone that sounds like the hero is some mortal-looking version of Batman or Superman, it’s automatically a big turn off for me. If they HAVE to go there, I would rather they do wear capes and what not so I’d find it a little easier to endure. And in Tamil, they have a knack of doing it way too seriously AND with very loud music and sound, so that makes it even less enticing. That’s one more difference between the upcoming project, then, and AS-Nayagan-Virumaandi – the man who scored them and the tone of those background scores, esp the first two (by Virumaandi, Raja was already getting a little Hans Zimmerized).

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Madan

November 7, 2023

“On top of my head, Sultan(Hindi), Maaveeran, War, RRR and Pathaan are recent movies which had mass moments incorporated organically on top of already good material.” – Haven’t seen War and Maaveeran and I have very little patience for Bhai. RRR was so well made that I could let go of the moments where it went OTT (and Rajamouli knows how to go over the top in style, like the saying about going full r***** when you go big). Pathaan was very meh….easy enough on the system because it was at least kind of funny with SRK bringing some levity to the table. Levity that I no longer expect from Kamal because he seems to have moved galaxies away from the actor who did comedy better than any superstar.

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Rambo

November 7, 2023

@Madan – What I would give for another great Kamal comedy. Sadly Crazy Mohan’s passing has taken away a great partnership. I genuinely miss good whole hearted comedies. They seem like a rare thing these days – lots of attempts but only few that are genuinely laugh out loud funny. Or what’s funny has moved on from my tastes with the generations. Any recent ones that folks would like to recommend?

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vijay

November 7, 2023

“As long as MR-KH make a movie that isn’t lazy ,”

THat is the bare MINIMUM expected from them, not exactly a benchmark. Even as a pre-production promo this was ‘lazy’ in the sense it was’nt even original, makes me think if MR was even involved. And Kamal in an out and out actioner at his age and with his looks is stretching things for me a bit too far. He looked tired and unconvincing even way back in Thooingavanam. Only way you are going to cover up for this, is with those slo-mo time slicing kinda shots, done to death about 10 years back. I still believe(or hope) that this is more an action-drama and not in Lokesh/Vinoth territory.

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Bala

November 7, 2023

was reminded of “Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name” by Ian Bishop after here the last dialog 😀 .
I am very confident that the movie name will change and the movie will not have anything to do with this trailer.
Kamal would have shot this as some hobby earlier, and he used it just to announce that a movie is signed with maniratnam. Mani would have objected, but udayanidhi and others would have overridden.

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lurker

November 7, 2023

“And Kamal in an out and out actioner at his age and with his looks is stretching things for me a bit too far.”

Exactly. I was really surprised to read an interview in The Hindu recently where the stunt masters said this is going to be an all-out actioner. It really feels off, I don’t think either the director or the lead star have a good track record in the action genre. With Leo (leaving the movie’s merits aside,) we at least had a director who has had success with actioners, and an agile lead. This one has neither.

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tamil thanos

November 8, 2023

Why are we overreacting to a 2.5 minutes promo whose main intention is to announce that they have started working on the movie ? It’s not even promo of the movie.

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Aryan

November 8, 2023

Omg! I haven’t found time to watch PS-1 and PS-2, yet. And, Mani Ratnam sir is already coming up with his nxt directorial!!
After watching the announcement vedio
His look reminds me of ABsr’s character from Kalki. Why the name ‘Thug life’, though? Are they trying to target the young audience? B’coz the title doesn’t go with ‘what they’re trying to show’.

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Nayagan Fan

November 8, 2023

this looks like Mani’s and Kamal’s ‘Righteous Kill’ reunion.

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Enigma

November 8, 2023

This was completely out of the blue. Did not know that Mani and Kamal were collaborating. Blown by this video. I don’t know why fans don’t find this impressive.

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brangan

November 8, 2023

Enigma: Did not know that Mani and Kamal were collaborating.

To read this after all the angsty venting above is just…. Hahahahahaha.

This is the comment of the day. Comment of the year. Comment of the decade. Comment of the two decades I have completed in this field.

No offence, and I realise that unlike us, you have a life — but seriously, thanks for the laughs.

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MANK

November 8, 2023

That depends upon your definition of ‘LIFE’ 🙂

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Satya

November 8, 2023

How dare you BR! I wish to summon the circus pistol now!

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SR Kumar

November 9, 2023

This teaser was freaking impressive… Its mighty surprising to read all the ‘yawn’ criticism for it in this thread, and all the dissing about the current Tamil cinema mass flavor that comes with Lokesh/Nelson/Atlee/etc.

First off – today’s commercial cinema in Tamil is far better and very different from the earlier cliches of Tamil commercial cinema. In today’s “masala movie zone”, the likes of Lokesh and Nelson are actually doing a very good job of adding enough class to their presentations. These boys make “mass movies WITH substance”. I wont add Atlee in this because my personal opinion of his films are not glowing. But Lokesh, Nelson, even Karthik Subbaraj who’s coming back with Jigarthanda Double X, are reinventing commercial cinema in Tamil and are presenting it with a lot more class.

Next on this KH-MR collab – its not even a year since MR mentioned to Rangan Vaathiyaar (:D) that in order to collaborate with Kamal, it needs a special script and thats why no collab happened for 35 yrs. You cant just see a title announcement teaser and start bringing out the aruvaal! Wait for the film. This teaser has enough tease in it for the film to be special. Most criticism seems to stem from the fact that some people dont seem enthused by the action genre! But thats your problem if you dont like the genre! KH-MR are not bound to make another drama like Nayakan or choose a particular genre. They could still make a special movie in the action genre!

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Thupparivaalan

November 9, 2023

So much premature venting – though I didn’t see Mani and Kamal naming a movie ‘THUG LIFE’, I’m hooked nonetheless. I’m choosing to trust Kamal and Mani to give us something good, though I’ve found most of Mani’s recent movies very weakly written, and I see his decision to adopt PS utterly self serving.

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kaizokukeshav

November 9, 2023

The teaser is definitely great. But the main issue is there is not a single moment in the entire video that says “this is directed by Mani Ratnam”. MR is a realistic film maker. Take one eg., the intro of Surya in AE (fron 0.35). It could’ve been very sophistically made but that’s not how MR operates.

Lokesh made the audience think that Vikram re-invented Kamal, but it felt like that because the entire first half was played by a masked man (who was definitely not KH). So I have least hopes on a reinvented KH movie. If the teaser is what the movie looks like, this will be a great action movie made by some talented technicians with an approval signed by MR.

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Enigma

November 9, 2023

LOL, thanks BRangan. Though my comment was not meant to be funny. I actually did not know that Mani Ratnam’s next was with Kamal Hassan. So when I saw your post, had a shock. I guess this is one of the downsides of living thousand miles away from namma Chennai. Anyway, looking forward to this.

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pirhaksar

November 9, 2023

oh man, the reactions for a promo…are over the top and hilarious like an Atlee movie. I actually liked the promo and super excited at what this trio can create, although I was pretty sure the title sounded too silly to be the actual title (I really hope that is the case).

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Yajiv

November 9, 2023

@ Srinivas R:

Karthik Subbaraj mentioned in an interview recently that the kind of films he used to make (Jigarthanda, Iraivi, etc.) just don’t get funded anymore. Sadly, the industry has changed for the worse

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Naren

November 9, 2023

About the AE clip . . .

Does anyone see any sweeping camera angles to dramatically reveal the protagonist?!
Granted it has some impractical stunt moves but does anyone see any high flying, gravity defying stunt work here?!
Other than the properly timed and placed slo-mo of Suriya’s character being shot, does anyone see the egregious overuse of slo-mo shots?!
Jarring music subsuming the dialogues?!
Does anyone hear the characters talking like literary savants?!
Does anyone hear the characters dropping names like Yakuza, Mafia, gangster etc?!
Does anyone see the characters disjointed from the situation and making moves and posing for the camera?! Even the thug’s reaction after being pummelled by the steel pipe is a lot more grounded and realistic.

If this clip counts as “mass” then I’m all for it.

For the last time, everyone talking here is very well aware that “Thug Life” is just a promo. Maybe not even that. But if the movie’s tone and treatment makes a paradigm shift from this then that would be confounding to anyone in the audience which could lead to unintended consequences. But I personally wud b more than happy to be proven wrong.

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Madan

November 9, 2023

“But if the movie’s tone and treatment makes a paradigm shift from this then that would be confounding to anyone in the audience which could lead to unintended consequences. ” – Yeah, either the movie sticks to the tone of the promo in which case this is just another marana mass product. Or it shifts away radically which would confuse the audience that was swept in by the promos and possibly push down returns post the opening weekend. Idk, if cinephiles aren’t supposed to expect something more than the run of the mill even from Mani-Kamal, what’s the point of it all? And I didn’t say they should only make another Nayakan as one poster tried to make it out. I am just saying this feels like say Marty-DeNiro following up Goodfellas not with Casino but, um, your typical 90s Jean Claude Van Damme vehicle. Emphasis on feels like. Like you, I am saying I will be happy to be proven wrong so I am ready to eat my words as well. Why still this level of upset? Appadina Kamal fans these days are not much better than Rajni fans then? Or maybe all fandoms go around looking for things to get triggered by?

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Rahini David

November 9, 2023

Anon to Enigma comment was accidentally posted in another thread.

So,

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Yajiv

November 9, 2023

If he truly wants to attempt a late stage action hero career, Kamal really needs to either work on his fitness or wear looser darker clothes like Denzel in the Equalizer movies. This ‘pseudo-samurai’ clothing was a little too tight around the waist to do him any favours. Couldn’t take him seriously as an action star. (But perhaps it’s just me…)

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Jayram

November 9, 2023

@Yajiv, do you have the link to the Karthik Subbaraj interview where he said Jigarthanda, Iraivi and Mercury can’t be funded anymore? Does it mean a Soodhu Kavvum can’t be made and funded either? That is a shame.

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K

November 9, 2023

“Appadina Kamal fans these days are not much better than Rajni fans then?”

Unfortunately yes.

Every Kamal fan will say Anbe Sivam is a masterpiece, Uttama Villain is a masterpiece etc and if these classics were made today they will become box office hits, because those films were ahead of its time blah blah blah.

But when a marana mass teaser releases, they start focusing on the 2 crore youtube hits the teaser has made in 2-3 days and would wait for the movie to make 1000 crore in box office. Kamal fans do not want another Hey Ram. They only want a 1000 crore box office success.

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Madan

November 9, 2023

I really miss films like Soodhu Kavvum or Rajathanthiram or Mysskin’s brilliant Pisaasu (for a different genre). Sadly what promised to be a golden new era of daring Tamil cinema seems to be giving way to more and more marana mass.

K: I noticed that trend during Vikram too. The success of the venture was more gratifying than the film itself, or so it seemed.

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anon

November 9, 2023

If it needs to be said at all, Kamal looks ridiculous doing the “action” in this promo. Whole thing looked utterly stupid (costume, dialogues, setting, action) – same as Rajini doing a slow mo walk to Ani’s BGM in Jailer while looking like an 80 year old about to collapse.

This whole Tamil hero worship thing has gotten completely out of hand – everybody takes it seriously and no one even thinks that this level of insanity being completely normalized is a problem. This is all Rajini’s fault though – what he started 30 years ago has now become a mainstay with every big star only doing mass films and every big film having to only be a mass film. I’m equating mass here to ridiculous levels of hero worship. Women have completely disappeared unless they’re doing their own version of mass or having to be in peril to be rescued (and/or an item number) or having to look up glowingly to the man for 2 scenes. I won’t be surprised if they heroines have to add “sir” while referring to their love interest going forward. Total regression or maybe status quo – dunno.

@BR, why ARE you calling Rajinikanth Thalaivar? Is this just something everyone HAS to do now?

Thanks Rahini – had no idea I posted in the wrong thread.

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Indira Ambur

November 9, 2023

I’m just glad Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan are back together! Never thought this would happen again because Kamal Haasan constantly talks about how no one can ‘afford’ him anymore.
I miss those days when it was hard for the producer/directors to fund and make a film and afford certain actors, yet make brilliant movies out of those circumstances… there’s so much money nowadays and MR seems to be making full use of it.
Kamal Haasan still looks great at whatever age he is now …beats out all the oldies in both the telugu/ tamil languages!

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Prem Rogue

November 10, 2023

Madan: “I really miss films like Soodhu Kavvum or Rajathanthiram or Mysskin’s brilliant Pisaasu (for a different genre). Sadly what promised to be a golden new era of daring Tamil cinema seems to be giving way to more and more marana mass.”

I wonder if Covid threw a spanner in the works. Daring films like these were in a precarious position even pre-Covid. Post-Covid lockdown, what little appetite producers had for producing such films has evaporated, since “mass” is a safer bet at the box office.

Kamal is no stranger to “mass” or heroism. His brand of mass is about showing off what a sakalakala vallavan he is, playing multiple characters, etc. along with more straightforwardly heroic moments. With “Thug Life” being a Mani Ratnam film co-written with Kamal, I expect that this will be an attempt to do something different from the usual “marana mass” stuff, though I’m sure it will plenty of that as well.

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Madan

November 10, 2023

“His brand of mass is about showing off what a sakalakala vallavan he is, playing multiple characters, etc. along with more straightforwardly heroic moments. ” – Yes, agreed, but based off Vikram, I think Kamal has decided that the current audience prizes unity/consistency of tone over everything else which means he has to be in ‘mass’ mode throughout the film. That makes his ‘mass’/commercial efforts likely to be less interesting than before.

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Yajiv

November 10, 2023

@Jayram: I need to look for it. I remember that it was from one of the non-BR Tamil channels and was done for Mahaan’s promotions last year. Will post if I can find it again. Personally, I think the losses suffered by CV Kumar (& his similar compatriots) played a big part in this.

I do wonder how other industries are doing post-pandemic. My Malayali colleague was saying that their film industry is currently going thru a box office slump. I do hope that they don’t start making more movies like RDX as a result (which I thought was a really generic adi padam).

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Naren

November 10, 2023

I keep saying and will keep saying until an actual change occurs . . . quality of movies is just one half of the equation. The other half of the equation is attracting a wider portfolio of audience. The industry has long cornered the market with only a particular demographic. Yes, quality of movies do need to improve orders of magnitude but now that the industry has dug itself a deep quagmire of Rajiniesque trap, it has to do the work, put in the necessary effort to market to other demographics too. It is going to be a slow and painful process but that’s the only way to spread. This vicious mobius strip has to be severed at some point.

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mvky

November 11, 2023

If everyone jumps into action genre, what will happen to those who are in it for years? They have competition from everyone and they have to invent ways to make themselves more relevant. The day will come when one action film will not be much different from another action film except for the presence of different stars. Let the audience be overfed with all sorts of action movies until they develop digestion problems. Drug free, corruption free until those subjects may become caricatures.

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Madan

November 12, 2023

mvky: I would in fact suggest that (a) these ‘action’ films are already very much alike unless you talk about RRR which is the only extraordinary directorial effort that transcends genres rather than being enslaved by genre-purity considerations and (b) tropes like drug free etc are already caricaturish and Shankar overkilled anti-corruption long before Anna Hazare. A lot of this is simply post-covid nostalgia creating an unprecedented frenzy for superstar vehicles. For eg, just how well would Vikram run if say Mysskin played Kamal’s role. Even if Fahad played that role (and somebody else played his actual role in the film), I don’t think it would be such a monstrous hit. We might have gotten a more interesting film with Fahad as the spy who came back from the cold, is a different story.

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Voldemort

November 12, 2023

Happy Diwali to BR and the wonderful people on this blog!

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Madan

November 12, 2023

Happy Diwali to BR and the BR-ites!

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JPhil

November 12, 2023

Chill folks !
You are discussing if a child should be put in jail , even before it’s born ? Let them make the movie first !
Chill.

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vijay

January 12, 2024

Mani with his usual theory on not being able to find a script (until PS/Vikram became hits)
https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tamil-cinema/mani-ratnam-explains-why-it-took-so-long-for-him-to-collaborate-with-kamal-haasan-again-101704969439186.html

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K

January 12, 2024

Udhayanidhi is the main reason for this collaboration I guess.

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brangan

January 13, 2024

The man is unstoppable!!! This is the ‘actor for hire’ I wished for in his pre-pandemic phase, where he was writing his own stuff and working with a close(d) circle of directors. Of course, I am a fan of his writing but this freedom of just being an actor is… welcome.

‘KH 237’: Kamal Haasan introduces stunt choreographers Anbariv as directors

https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/kamal-haasan-announces-next-film-kh-237-debut-director-anbariv-anbu-arivu-2488044-2024-01-12

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lurker

January 13, 2024

KH234 is Thug Life right? Why have they skipped 235 and 236?

This whole ‘star name+movie sequence no.’ format is starting to confuse me now. There was an announcement for KH233 with H Vinoth IIRC, but apparently they have started 234 (Thug) before that. So no.234 is now his 233rd film?

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Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan

January 13, 2024

KH 233 – Directed by H Vinoth
KH 234 – Mani Ratnam’s ‘Thug Life’
KH 235 – Nag Ashwin’s ‘Kalki 2898AD’
KH 236 – Shankar’s ‘Indian 3’
KH 237 – Directed by Anbariv

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vijay

January 13, 2024

not much for Kamal ‘the actor’ to do anything here.. .same Vikram kind of action masalas is what he has signed up for.. He is’nt exactly doing a Nishabd or a Piku Or a Pink here.

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hari prasad

May 8, 2024

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shittier Tamil Movie Details (@shittier_tamilmovie_details)

I hope Mani doesn’t jump to this trend of connecting his movies’ universe , if he does , it should feel organic instead of the mess Lokesh made with Leo.

I’m already scared seeing Mani use Gen Z terms like , ” Sigma” , “Thug Life” in the promos.
It stood out in a weird way as if it was like seeing Rajini try to be like PewDiePie when his grandson says that he doesn’t have the skibidi rizz and his mannerisms are cringe as hell.

Hope Mani resoundingly shuts down our doubts.

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Isai

May 8, 2024

I feel Thug Life won’t have anything to do with CCV which is perhaps the most personal film Mani Ratnam has ever made. I don’t think he will try to change what he was trying to say through that movie.

Creativity ebbs and flows. When a director goes to shoot with an exciting idea but not a fully bound script and his creativity is also in the ebb phase, he may replicate his popular/favourite tropes to complete the movie. I felt this when PS-2’s scenes reminded me of Raavanan, Iruvar (Prakash Raj-Tabu bed scene) etc. Feeling the same with Thug Life.

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