Expectedly, Mani Ratnam’s head is always brimming with ideas. And it was, after the release of his last film, Ponniyin Selvan 2 (2023). But the filmmaker points out that his upcoming movie, Thug Life, led by Kamal Haasan, wasn’t one of them. “This was an idea that Kamal had. We decided to pick this up because something in this idea resonated with me. It had the germ, which I liked,” he smiles. 

Thug Life — also starring Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, and Abhirami — sees Haasan as a gangster, who is forced to turn on his family in the face of betrayal. The June 5 release is pegged as a gangster action drama, but to Ratnam, it is an emotional story that has “a lot of action” in it. Those emotionally charged, interpersonal conflicts are admittedly the “germ” of an idea that struck a chord with him. “I think action is made for cinema. It has all the elements that highlight the medium fully. I’ve always liked action films, but only when they are an integral part of the film, and not action for action’s sake. This film has action as an integral part of the story. What hooked me were its emotional content, the relationships, and interaction between the characters,” he explains. 

(From left) Silambarasan TR and Kamal Haasan play gangsters in the June 5 release. Pic/Instagram