Thug Life Movie Review: Kamal Haasan-Mani Ratnam's film doesn’t hit like it should

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR and Trisha Krishnan

Director: Mani Ratnam

Rating: 1/2

Mani Ratnam's much-awaited film of the year Thug Life has got everything the viewers need - emotions, drama, action, suspense, and a star-studded cast. And of course, one one of the best director-actor duo in the game. On paper, this clearly sounds like an absolute winner. However, somehow, it comes across as a bit of a surprise . and not in a way the viewers had expected. Because when the most impeccable and respected director like Mani Ratnam teams up with a legend like Kamal Haasan, one expects a movie that is both special and striking, if not really a game-changer. Instead, what the viewers are offered is a typical massy film and not the one where Mani Ratnam does his usual magic.

Thug Life - with its story of an old gangster dealing with guilt, fate, love and death - sounds deep. Unfortunately, a major part of it comes across as flat and familiar, and there are moments when you begin to question if this is the film directed by Mani Ratnan. The movie begins with Kamal Haasan, whose back faces the camera and sets the tone with a bit of mystery right from the get-go. His dialogue 'Ye mere aur Yamraj ke beech ki kahani hai' is sufficient to know that it's building up to something big, and his presence alone adds weight. Soon the things unfold, that strong start doesn't really keep the same energy all the way through.

You may get Nayakan vibes in the movie's black-and-white sequences shown in the first half. A clean-shaven Kamal Haasan will bring back the memories of Velu Naicker. One may also feel the sequences of a young boy at his dad's funeral familiar. As the story progresses, we are told that the boy's father was caught in a shootout between the cops and gangster Rangaraaya Sakthivel (Kamal Haasan). Sakthivel ends up taking the kid in, though the boy has no idea how his dad really died or that his sister, Chandra, is still alive. As he grows up, the boy - Amar (Silambarasan) becomes Sakthivel's right-hand man. What exactly the gang does or how they operate out of a hazy version of Delhi? That part remains fuzzy.