Thug Life Review and Rating

Starring Kamal Haasan in the lead role, Thug Life under the direction of Mani Ratnam is carrying a good buzz among the audience. Co-starring STR in a key role, the film has hit the screens on June 6, 2025. Let’s Review it

Director: Mani Ratnam

Star cast: Kamal Hassan, Simbu, Trisha, Abhirami, Nassar, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan etc

Production Banners :Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies

Music: AR Rahman

Cinematography: Ravi K Chandran

Editior: A Sreekar Prasad

Thug Life: Boring and disappointing (1.5/5) 

Synopsis:

In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, a shootout orchestrated by Sadanand a rival gang leader of Sakthivel (Kamal Haasan) leads to the death of a man caught in the crossfire, leaving his children, Amaran (Silambarasan) and Chandra (Aishwarya Lekshmi), separated. Amid the chaos, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manickam (Nassar) rescue the young Amaran and raise him as their own. Later , Manickam’s daughter kills herself after being cheated by Sadanand’s nephew. Amaran captures him for revenge, and Sakthivel kills him. How come the further proceedings lead to a rivalry between Father and his lost son Amaran, forms the crucial crux. 

Performances:

The performances and casting are apt and done a brilliant job. While Kamal Hassan stands out as expected, Simbu does well but his scope feels limited due to the writing. Trisha’s role is a waste and feels useless. Abhirami is okay in her given crucial role. 

Other artists such as Nassar did a convincing job in their supporting roles. Ashok Selvan is cool in his cop look. Others such as Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George are okay in their key roles. 

Analysis:

The first half is at-least somewhat watchable due to a few interesting portions and the set up. However, the second half is a complete dud from start to finish. Mani Ratnam showed a little spark in how he started this story but the narration is painfully slow and way too predictable. The emotions don’t really workout either. 

Technical Department:

AR Rahman’s music is a huge drawback and out of sync. The film has few intriguing portions in the first half, good production values. The photography work standout. Apart from this, there is nothing worth remembering. The predictability and slow pace tempo of the film hampers this drama  In one word, Thug Life is a major disappointing for the audience. 

Verdict:

All in all, Thug Life A boring Gangster Drama that had some intrigue in the initial set up but falls off completely after that. Watch it if have enough time and money or else wait for the film to be out on OTT platform when it is available online.