Kamal Haasan is currently busy promoting his next release Thug Life. Directed by Mani Ratnam, the movie marks the reunion of the two stalwarts after almost 38 years. Interestingly, Kamal is oozing a lot of confidence on the project that he went on to state that Thug Life will be bigger than Nayagan. It is sending waves of mixed feelings in the fans if they have to take Kamal’s words with a pinch of salt.
Over the years, Kamal Haasan promoted a lot of his movies in both Tamil and Telugu. But until Indian 2 happened, Kamal completely changed his approach in promoting the movies. Until Indian 2, Kamal Haasan used to explosively speak about the craft, the making and the story of his movies. He used to explain the intricate detailings that went into making the film but never resorted to hype the film with his statements. Even for a big blockbuster like Vikram, he did not hype the film rather spoke about how they made it.
During the promotions of Indian 2, he began stating that Indian 3 will be bigger than Indian 2 and everyone must await that project. From the critics’ POV, it is partially because Kamal already knew the fate of Indian 2 and he just wanted to do the damage control by hyping Indian 3 more than Indian 2. Also, a few commented that Kamal intentionally did that because he thought Indian 3 would work more. And there were some other comments that Kamal also picked up the trend of hyping the films for openings. However, Indian 2 was released and everyone understood the sense behind Kamal’s statement only then.
Most surprisingly, Kamal is repeating it for Thug Life as well. Neither Mani Ratnam nor Kamal have given a proper clarity on what the film is going to be unlike what they usually do for their movies. Kamal Haasan shocked everyone by stating that Thug Life is bigger than Nayagan. In fact, Nayagan is a trend setting movie in Indian cinema, when it comes to gangster dramas. The making, performances, technicalities, music and everything about Nayagan can serve as a case study for aspiring filmmakers. Even today, Nayagan can sustain the excitement levels to the new generation audiences. Many filmmakers tried to replicate Nayagan or make a spin off of the project but never came near to the Kamal Haasan’s cult classic.
Additionally, Kamal also stated that Mani Ratnam has improved a lot in his directorial skill. In fact, everyone was in an opinion that Mani Ratnam’s career is also reaching an end. Because, apart from the recent Ponniyin Selvan, all Mani’s films in almost a decade apart from Ok Kanmani were deemed to be flops. Even PS franchise failed big time in Telugu and opened to huge criticism in Tamil. Somehow, the film managed to Mani Ratnam back in the game. With Thug Life, Mani has to prove himself as a successful director once again.
In such a scenario, the fans are worried about two things. The first one is Kamal’s latest approach of promoting the films by hyping them unnecessarily. For everyone, Kamal is someone who should talk about cinema and the making behind it and not suddenly slip into the marketing genius role. The second concerning factor is the latest statement from Kamal that Thug Life will be bigger than Nayagan. Comparing it with what Kamal told during Indian 2, everyone is doubting if Thug Life really has potential to become a good cinema.
Well, we have to wait few more days to watch the film on June 5th, 2025.
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