Nature's thunder-storm 'salute' for cinema's 'reign-men' iconic Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, A R Rahman for action-emotional thriller 'Thug Life' at media-event by Chaitanya Padukone

As if on cue, just as the entire lead ensemble cast of 'Thug Life' was heading towards the PVR Juhu Theatre there was a dramatic pre-monsoon thunder-showers welcome for them, in Mumbai.

By Chaitanya Padukone 21 May 2025 in Entertainment

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As if on cue, just as the entire lead ensemble cast of 'Thug Life' was heading towards the PVR Juhu Theatre there was a dramatic pre-monsoon thunder-showers welcome for them, in Mumbai. It seemed to be Nature's lightning thunder-storm salute gesture to cinema's iconic reign-men Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman to Mumbai as they arrived with the rest of the cast for 'Thug Life' trailer and movie promotion Mumbai-The city of dreams witnessed cinematic history in the making as the team of Thug Life came together for the first time in presence of some of the distinguished senior and junior Mumbai media journalists for an exclusive promotional event.

OG Tridev Thugs of Indian Cinema A R Rahman, Kamal Haasan ,Mani Ratnam — OG Tridev Thugs of Indian Cinema A R Rahman, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam

The event brought together the powerhouse trio of Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, and AR Rahman — along with leading cast members Silambarasan TR ( fondly called Simbu), Trisha Krishnan, , Abhirami (Divya Gopikumar), and Ashok Selvan — for a lively interaction with the press-news media..

While the trailer of Thug Life has already taken the internet by ( thunder) storm, this event marked the first official promotional appearance of the cast and crew in Mumbai kick-starting the national promotions of the film. The team shared anecdotes from the sets, spoke about collaborating on a film of this scale, and reflected on the creative synergy that defines Thug Life.

Evergreen superstar Kamal Haasan --Thug Life

Reflecting on his multi-faceted riveting role as Rangaraaya in the film—as actor, writer, and producer—Kamal Haasan said: “The most exciting part was working with him (Mani Ratnam). Automatically, all the other things happened.”

Sharing his first impression of Mani Ratnam, the articulate, witty Kamal Haasan ( its his 234th film as a lead hero) recalled: “My first impression is that I knew Mani as a friend living in the same area. I didn’t even know that he belonged to a film family. He was a person, and I liked the way he spoke. We became friends, and we had a group of friends. We were talking only cinema and no gossip—and that’s where it started. All of the films you mentioned—we all know about them, including when we were doing Nayakan in, I think, near Colaba. And Ramesh Sippy saab was shooting in Film City. So we had some shots in Film City. We all went to see the shooting of Mr. Ramesh Sippy. Ultimately, the qualification that brought us here is that, like you, we have fans—we’re film buffs. That’s what brought us here. We’d go to any set to watch anybody work—especially those we consider talented. We’d like to watch them work. And that’s what we did”, said the unassuming Four National Film Awards winner Kamal Haasan.

Heroine Trisha Krishnan with evergreen Kamal Haasan

When asked about how the idea of Thug Life took shape, filmmaker Mani Ratnam shared: “The first thing that came was Kamal Haasan, and then Thug Life came in. So, it started from there.”

Speaking about the scale of the production and assembling the film’s stellar team, seven National Film Awards winner, Ratnam added: “I think the scale is designed by the story. Whatever that demands is what you go towards. And it is always a pleasure—and it always makes a director’s job easy—when you have the correct cast and crew. I’ve been lucky to have the best. So, it has been fantastic.. Its not just a high-octane action-violence thriller. There is relatable romance and intense emotions and melodious musical songs as well in Thug Life.” informed modest 'showman' Mani Ratnam who is known for his sensitive action-emotional-romantic-musical classic thrillers in the past such as 'Roja', 'Bombay', and 'Dil Sey'. which are highly relevant event today.

Talking about how the music journey began for Thug Life, (Six National Film Awards winner) A.R. Rahman said: “Actually, we were experimenting on various palettes of melodies, and so the first dabble—which is there in the trailer—that came in. And there’s one really haunting voice that comes in—I don’t know what language it is—but that gave a very unique feel, and he really loved it.”

A rare confluence of legendary talent and fresh storytelling, Thug Life is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated releases in Indian cinema, uniting visionary film-making with an ensemble of powerhouse performers.

Produced by Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International, Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies, R. Mahendran, and Siva Ananth, Thug Life boasts an ensemble cast of stellar performers. Kamal Haasan leads the film as Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker, alongside Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, and Abhirami in pivotal roles. Adding to the star power, the film also features Nassar, Chetan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tanikella Bharani, Bagavathi Perumal, Chinni Jayanth, and Vaiyapuri. Further enriching its grandeur, Thug Life cast includes Ali Fazal, Rohit Saraf, Baburaj, Arjun Chidambaram, Rajshri Deshpande, Sanya Malhotra, and Vadivukarasi, promising an ensemble of powerhouse performances. With Mani Ratnam at the helm and A.R. Rahman's music, Thug Life is all set for a worldwide theatrical release on Thursday, June 5, 2025.