Thug Life movie review: Kamal Haasan oozes swag & charm in Mani Ratnam's stylish action-thriller

Star cast: Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Rohit Saraf, Sanya Malhotra, Mahesh Manjrekar and Baburaj

Director: Mani Ratnam

The legendary duo Ulganayagan Kamal Haasan and filmmaker Mani Ratnam have reunited after 38 years for Thug Life. Their collaboration after Nayakan (1987) has created a humongous excitement among the cinegoers. While the promotional materials including trailers and songs have impressed the audience, does it live up to their sky-high expectations? Let’s find out…

Thug Life starts with a powerful narration of an old Rangaraaya Sakthivel ( Kamal Haasan ) where he speaks about how the world has known him as a gangster ever since his existence and his hide-and-seek game with the god of death.

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Cut to 1994 in Delhi, where Sakthivel and his brother Manickam (Nasser) are having a meeting with Sadanand (Mahesh Manjrekar) to sort out all the conflicts which have led to gang war between them.

While Sadanand shakes hands with Manickam, he double-crosses them as police officers are waiting for Sakthivel, Manickam and their gang members.

As there is a shootout between police and Sakthivel’s members, Manickam kills one local newspaper distributor so that there is a distraction and they can escape.

Sakthivel picks the newspaper distributor’s son Amar as a shield and later adopts him. Amar grows up (Silambarasan) and handles the majority of his gang work.

Sakthivel gives responsibility of the gang to Amar while going to jail and tells every member he is now in charge of the gang. While Manickam smiles and accepts his decision, he is jealous and upset that Sakthivel has given the power to Amar over him.

Manickam now creates a rift between Sakthivel and Amar by telling the latter that it was Sakthivel, who killed his father despite knowing that he was a newspaper distributor and not a cop. Shattered Amar plans to execute Sakthivel with the help of Manickam and two other gang members at Hilsa (Nepal).

Sakthivel is shocked and shattered to see his close ones attacking him. They throw him from the snow-capped mountains and Amar declares himself the boss of the gang with Manickam being his partner.

So, will Sakthivel make a comeback and take revenge and get all the answers from his close ones turned enemies?

Mani Ratnam has presented the 90s style of cinema in a modern battle with his engrossing storytelling and gripping narrative. Mani has always enhanced his film with brilliant technical aspects and Thug Life is no different as Ravi K. Chandran’s camera work is stunning with A. Sreekar Prasad’s sharp editing.

Talking about the performances, Kamal Haasan carries the film with his pure charisma and rules the screen as Sakthivel. Right from emotional scenes to fight sequences, the legend shows his acting mettle with ease and finesse. Silambarasan wears an attitude with Amar and manages to make his screen presence count in front of Kamal Haasan. Abhirami and Trisha Krishnan have done their roles to T. Nasser also makes an impact with his portrayal of Manickam.

On the whole, Thug Life is a massy affair, which can be enjoyed on the big screen.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Thug Life is playing in cinemas