Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life starring Kamal Hassan hit the silver screens today across the country, except in one state. In case you missed it, the film has been banned in Karnataka and hence was not released in the cinema halls in the state. The ban was a result of Haasan’s comment, which stirred up a huge controversy. The actor reportedly said, “Kannada is born from Tamil”, which did not sit well with the Kannada-speaking people. Furthermore, his unwillingness to apologise for it, stating it was ‘made out of love’, only added to the woes. Although the film skipped the Karnataka screens, the actor’s fans made sure they watched their beloved star on the big screen, even if that meant travelling miles and crossing state borders. 
Kamal Hassan fans travel 42 km
Kamal Haasan`s fans were unstoppable as they took to social media to share their willingness to travel 42 km to watch his latest release. As the film was released on Thursday, social media was flooded with pictures and videos of fans from other states celebrating outside theatres and sharing their reviews of the film. One such user on X (formerly Twitter) posted videos of fans bursting firecrackers outside a single-screen theatre in Hosur.

Thuglife is banned in Karnataka, but no one can stop our love for Kamal Haasan. All the fans in Bangalore are gathered here in Hosur !”#KamalHaasan #KamalHaasan𓃵 #Thuglife #ThugLifeFromToday #ThugLifeBlockbuster #Silambarasan #chinnaswamystadium pic.twitter.com/hCSSoQQT0t
— South Mix Media (@SouthMixMedia) June 5, 2025

The user shared that Kamal Haasan fans travelled from Bengaluru to the theatre in Tamil Nadu`s Hosur to watch the film. “Thuglife is banned in Karnataka, but no one can stop our love for Kamal Haasan. All the fans in Bangalore are gathered here in Hosur!”, they wrote.
Thug Life to incur losses due to ban
A report by The Hindu predicts that Thug Life will likely face a ₹35-40 crore loss for not releasing in Karnataka. Producer and distributor G Dhananjayan stated that the production of Thug Life will likely lose out on ₹35-40 crore gross earnings at the box office and ₹12-15 crore share to producers due to the missed release in Karnataka. The calculation was reportedly based on the fact that Pushpa 2, Baahubali 2, RRR, and Kalki 2898 AD made around ₹74-104 crore of their over ₹1000 crore worldwide revenue in Karnataka alone. 

 

 
 

 
 

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A post shared by Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan)

He noted, “With the four Telugu films grossing a total of ₹5832 crore, the Karnataka box office revenue alone amounts to ₹391.20 crore, while the north Indian market accounts for ₹2361.60 crore. The Karnataka market accounts for around 7&#37 of the total revenue.” Even top-grossing Tamil films like Jailer, Leo, Ponniyin Selvan, The GOAT, and Vikram had a major chunk of the market in Karnataka, said the producer, adding, “For Tamil films too, the Karnataka market accounts for 7&#37 of the total revenue.”