R ARIVANANTHAM
Thirty six years after ‘Nayakan,’ Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan and ace director Mani Ratnam are reuniting for another epic movie. The duo revealed the title on the former’s birthday eve.
Actor Kamal Haasan has announced his new film on the eve of his birthday. The actor has dropped the title announcement video of his new action film with Mani Ratnam, titled ‘Thug Life.’ The film will reunite Kamal and Mani after their gangster drama ‘Nayagan’ broke all records in the 1990s. The duo have come together to work in KH 234 titled as Thug Life.
The makers of the movie have released an awe-inspiring title launch video which shows Kamal Haasan’s character as Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakan.
“It seems they had written on my forehead at birth that Sakthivel Nayakan was a criminal, a goonda, a Yakuza,” says the hero, covered in a torn and murky white robe.
In the video, a lone figure stands in the middle of a barren, misty land. He’s covered himself with a rustic cloak. He faces five men who are standing at a distance, holding various weapons, ready to charge at him. The camera then reveals Kamal’s face, with his recent look of a dense moustache and beard.
As the men approach him, he lets go of the cloak, revealing long locks, as he gears up to fight in a martial arts position. He then goes on to systematically and calmly take down the men. After eliminating all of them, he wears his cloak again and smiles at the camera. The title of the movie is then revealed to be ‘Thug Life.’
He faces a group of henchmen and says, “this is not the first time I am hitting someone, and this is not the last time.”
Later, he takes off his robe and reveals his martial arts attire as he fights with the henchmen who came to attack him.
Given that Kamal Haasan’s character was Sakthivel Naicker in Nayagan, it remains to be seen if Thug Life will be a sequel to Nayagan. Neither Kamal Haasan nor Mani Ratnam has revealed anything about it yet.
It remains unknown if and how Thug Life is connected to Nayakan.
With an ensemble of cast—Dulqer Salman, Trisha Krishnan, Jayam Ravi and others, Mani Ratnam had also roped in Anbariv, the duo who are the stunt sensation in Tamil cinema. Anbariv collaborated with Kamal in his latest Vikram. A.R. Rahman will score music while Sreekar Prasad has been roped in for editing.
Produced by Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, R. Mahendran and Siva Ananth under the banner Raaj Kamal films, Madras Talkies and Red Giant movies, the release of the title comes as a huge treat for the super star’s fans on the eve of his 69th birthday.
Cinematographer Ravi K Chandran who worked with Mani Ratnam in Kandathil Muthamittal and Aayutha Ezhuthu will handle the camera.
Considered to be one of Kamal Haasan’s biggest movies, the film is expected to go on the floors in a month and is now in the pre-production stage.
