Thug Life – Thugged not Thrilled!!! PK Verdict: Super Tin⭐️
Watch The Trailer
June 5, 2025
Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Abhirami, Joju George, Nasser, Mahesh Manjrekar and Ali Fazal
Theatre
Action Thriller Violence , Drama , Torture
Thug Life – Thugged not Thrilled!!!
Thug Life promises cinematic grandeur but delivers cinematic fatigue. What was touted as a bold collaboration of industry titans—Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan, and A.R. Rahman—turns out to be a sluggish potboiler that drains more than it dazzles. The result? Three hours that feel like a cinematic heist, robbing the audience not just of time but of expectations.
Once known as the pioneer of poetic storytelling, Mani Ratnam here seems to be walking the Subhash Ghai path—films with flair, but lacking any real fire. The craft is conspicuously absent. This is not the Mani Ratnam who once sculpted visual and emotional masterpieces. Instead, Thug Life plays out like a bloated homage to a brand that has stopped evolving.
The inclusion of Ali Fazal and Sanya Malhotra teases promise, but their roles barely skim the surface—blink-and-you-miss appearances that feel more like contractual obligations than meaningful parts of the narrative. They fade as quickly as they arrive, leaving no impact whatsoever. And same with Joju George, Nassar, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi and so on.
At the film’s supposed emotional and dramatic core is the showdown between Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan, two powerhouse performers who are reduced to trading lines without purpose. The build-up is artificial, the tension non-existent. Their romance with Trisha—yes, both—feels like a last-minute script filler, a half-heartedly designed more to tick boxes than to stir emotions. It lands like a cheap cherry—not on top, but tossed awkwardly to the side.
A.R. Rahman’s music, while technically sound, floats disconnected from the emotional beats of the film. The score feels like a highlight reel from better times, repurposed for a film that lacks soul.
In the end, Thug Life isn’t so much a crime saga as it is a cinematic swindle. It steals your attention, offers little in return, and leaves you wondering when the legends stopped caring. South cinema has long taken pride in its storytelling, but this film is a stark reminder that even the biggest names can stumble when the heart of the story goes missing.
A cold, lifeless spectacle disguised as a film. Thugged, not thrilled.
PK Verdict: Super Tin ⭐️