Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam have come together for a professional collaboration after 38 years. Their last outing together, Nayakan, was a classic. Now, all eyes are on Thug Life, a mass actioner written by Haasan himself with music by A.R. Rahman. The film features an ensemble cast including Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Ali Fazal, Sanya Malhotra, and Rohit Saraf, among others. With the film now playing in theatres, here’s a look at the first reactions and reviews from audiences.
Netizens Unimpressed by Thug Life
The initial reactions toward Mani Ratnam`s directorial Thug Life are not positive, with fans saying the film lacks the filmmaker’s trademark magic. Many also felt the second half was flat and the plot quite generic.

It was uninteresting, routine, emotionless aimless and unimpressive in every way, yet undeniably musical and stylish.#Thuglife pic.twitter.com/9F9wz4KxCx
— చాండ్లర్😳 (@chandler999999) June 5, 2025

#Thuglife The second half goes downhill. Surprisingly too much talking in a maniratnam film. #STR and drama goes missing until pre climax in the second half. Only good moment in second half is the climax. It`s hard to watch ur favorite director making a mediocre movie ☹️ pic.twitter.com/Y4jWWkbam2
— Frank (@saatvan) June 5, 2025

#ThugLife ~ Turd Life 💩 Predictable gangster saga by Mani Ratnam with an Outdated story by Kamal Haasan & an Ineffective score by ARR. What works is the good De-aging work in the beginning, and the rest is big blunder.🥱👎 (1☆/5) pic.twitter.com/gpU7hin9k1
— Prince Prithvi (@PrincePrithvi) June 5, 2025

Been an hour since I watched the UK premiere of #ThugLife. Poorly written, lack of character depth aplenty, no emotional connect with any of the titular roles, music in movie was mehh. Should`ve just stayed at home and slept pic.twitter.com/QCuqf1YtHw
— Rakesh Koothrapalli (@summairrakesh) June 5, 2025

Kamal Haasan on Thug Life
During a press interaction on Wednesday, Haasan spoke fondly of his experience working on `Thug Life` and what the film means to him.
“It is true that working with him (Mani Ratnam) was a pleasure for me. I would like to thank Tamil Nadu and its people for their unwavering support,” Haasan said, reflecting on the warmth he has received throughout his career.
Haasan went on to elaborate about his contribution to the film, describing the collaborative process with Ratnam.
“Every film is a challenge, especially when you add another director like Mani Ratnam and a story that is so interesting. Fortunately, he included me in the story`s preparation. I gave him an idea, and most of the time, I was getting vegetables and helping him make it more tasty. That`s what I did. And that I call a true collaboration… We both are children of cinema, and that is how we see each other,” he said.