Thug Life: 5 Problems That Mani Ratnam & Kamal Haasan's Gangster Drama Couldn't Solve

Thug Life brings together icons like Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, and STR, but delivers a soulless gangster film with stunning visuals and little emotional depth. Here's why the film does not work.

Let’s not kid ourselves. When you hear the names Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan, AR Rahman, and STR in the same breath, your expectations shoot through the roof. And why not? These legends have previously delivered cinematic masterpieces like 'Nayakan', 'Iruvar', 'Manmadhan'. But sadly, 'Thug Life' is not one of them.

'Thug Life' is an outdated rendition of your run-of-the-mill Hollywood gangster saga, with a father-son duo, Kamal Haasan (as Shaktivel) and Silambarasan (as Amaran), at loggerheads over power in the Delhi crime world.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting for the Mani Ratnam–Kamal Haasan reunion, we finally got 'Thug Life', a film that promised an aesthetic gangster drama, but what we’re served is loud action, all talk, and no emotional substance. An unhappy marriage of sorts between an auteur and a megastar, with business and box office as the matchmaker.

1. Where Is the Emotional Depth?

Mani Ratnam, the man who gave us 'Nayakan', 'Alaipayuthey', and 'Kannathil Muthamittal', once knew how to evoke deep emotional gravitas. But 'Thug Life'? It's a complete emotional vacuum. Yes, there’s father-son conflict, betrayal, and revenge, but none of it resonates. Not one moment tugs at your heart. Even with legends like Kamal Haasan and STR, it feels like a checklist of dramatic tropes rather than a Mani Ratnam film.

2. The Pacing Is a Slog

We understand gangster epics need time to breathe. But 'Thug Life' drags its feet. Scenes seem to exist solely to hit runtime milestones. Action sequences appear shoehorned in, the unbearably long climax, another generic train fight, a car chase that could’ve been skipped,  all of it feels painfully passé in an age of 'Pushpa' and 'KGF'. The edit lacks sharpness. A tighter cut could’ve easily done away with some of the indulgent set pieces the film would’ve been better without.

3. Flat Screenplay, Flatter Characters

If you walk into 'Thug Life' expecting a signature Mani Ratnam narrative, where storytelling, visuals, and music blend seamlessly, brace for disappointment. What you’ll get instead is a flat, uninspired screenplay. The characters are hollow, robotic even. Kamal Haasan’s Shaktivel and STR’s Amaran show little to no emotional progression. Whatever exists is shallow at best. You don’t root for anyone because the script gives you no reason to.

4. Wasted Ensemble Cast

Look at that cast: Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi. A dream team on paper. In reality? Criminally underused. Trisha’s entry is the only one with Mani Ratnam's flair, but her chemistry with Kamal is awkward at best. Not just because of the glaring age gap or the regressive tone, but because the characters are either confused or irrelevant. You genuinely feel bad for the talent that went to waste here.

5. Action for Action’s Sake

There’s meaningful action, and then there’s action just for the sake of it. 'Thug Life' leans into the latter — hard. Most action scenes are purely aesthetic exercises, reminding you that this is a gangster film. The only saving grace? They’re beautifully shot. Think Samurai meets Bruce Lee in a Himalayan landscape that kicks off the second half. But when there are no emotional stakes, it’s all just... pretty pictures.

What works in this Mani Ratnam film?

Let’s be fair. A few things work. The cinematography? Top-notch. The colour palettes speak in moods; greens and blues for betrayal and death, warm tones for camaraderie and light-hearted relief. The camera work transitions from sweeping master shots to intimate close-ups in the second half as the story becomes more psychologically introspective, particularly for Kamal Haasan’s Shaktivel.

One standout? The yacht scene in Goa where Amaran (STR) shoots his friend while turning away, a stylistic moment that arrives far too late. Another? STR’s declaration of killing a gang leader as Joju George fires a shot in a tense, testosterone-heavy room. That moment, delivered 2-hours after the film, should’ve been his intro, not the bland setup we got in the beginning of it.

AR Rahman’s music too, gives some much-needed relief. Certain segments are beautifully woven into the narrative, like Trisha’s introduction with ‘Sugar Baby’ or the haunting ‘Anju Vanna Poove’. But even Rahman can’t salvage a script that gives its own actors little to play with. Remember how 'Vikram' used music to elevate action? 'Thug Life' could’ve learned a thing or two from Lokesh Kanagaraj.

For a Mani Ratnam fan, 'Thug Life' is a difficult watch. You keep waiting for a redemptive moment that turns the tide — it never arrives. The story is hollow, the pacing tedious, the cast wasted, and the climax painfully slow for something so predictable.

'Thug Life' had the potential to be cinematic history. Instead, it’s a technically sound, emotionally hollow letdown. I’ll be honest, this one’s going to take some time to recover from.