The audio launch of Thug Life, one of the biggest Indian films of the year, was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, May 24. The film marks a reunion between two living legends of Tamil cinema, actor Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam, after their 1987 hit Nayakan.

The event featured the two alongside the star of the show, music maestro AR Rahman, and actors Silambarasan TR, Trisha, Nasser, Joju George, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, and Ali Fazal, among a host of actors and technicians. Notably, Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar attended the event as a special guest. The evening saw prominent singers like Shruti Haasan, Chinmayi, Rakshita Suresh, Paal Dabba and others perform Rahman’s chartbuster songs from the album live on stage.

As a major highlight of the event, a visibly emotional Kamal Haasan paid his tributes to the dignitaries at the event. In an impassioned speech, he paid tribute to the art form of cinema and said that he wishes to return all the love being showered on him by making better films. “Ashok Selvan said he was once amongst the crowd outside my house who came to see me; how do I ever thank all those people? That’s why I entered politics. Do you get it? Not to become a Chief Minister. What an MLA does to a constituency, we have been doing it gradually to the whole of Tamil Nadu for over 40 years,” said Kamal. “I am so grateful to know that my brothers are now standing tall in society in high places, and your brothers should do that, and you need to make them do that, STR,” he further added, pointing towards Silambarasan.

The Ulaganayagan thanked Shivarajkumar for felicitating the event and said, “How can I not submit myself to this love? As your representative, Kannada’s superstar has come here. But he doesn’t identify himself as that here; he’s here as my son, as my fan, as a representative of all of you. He is from a family of mine from Karnataka.”

Kamal then said that he met Mani Ratnam at a very young age. “But it was cinema that brought us together. Cinema will bring many together. It can humble all egos,” he said, before turning his attention to Silambarasan. “I can see the heights my brother STR is set to reach. You have a responsibility, Simbu; you are the leader of this crowd. You are already responsible, but now you have even more responsibility; that’s not a burden, but a pleasure. Please enjoy it, and I will enjoy watching you enjoy it,” said Kamal, adding that he enjoyed watching Simbu’s performance in the film. “I am not here to see Thug Life, I am here to sell good cinema,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shivarajkumar called the audio launch his ‘fan moment’ and expressed his adoration for Kamal in his speech. “I like his smile, eyes, personality and everything about him.” The superstar recounted an incident when Kamal visited the former’s father, late veteran actor Rajkumar, at their house. “He was talking to my father, and I was just admiring him from a distance. Kamal sir asked who I was, and my father introduced me as his son; he then shook my hand, and I asked him if I could hug him once. You won’t believe me, I didn’t bathe for three days after hugging him because I wanted his odour on me. I am that big of a fan,” he said, adding that it was a privilege to be a special guest at an event for Kamal’s film.

“My dad sounded the clapboard for Raaj Kamal Films International’s first film, Raja Paarvai, and that association has continued since then, and it will do so until we are here,” added Shivarajkumar, before reminiscing about the moment when Kamal called Shivanna after the latter’s chemotherapy surgery in the US earlier this year. “He told me he teared up after talking to me; I can never forget that. It was like my dad speaking to me.” As a major highlight, the superstar also sang ‘Orey Naal Unnai Naan’ from Kamal’s 1978 film Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on Pathu Thala, Silambarasan’s Tamil remake of his Kannada film Mufti, Shivanna said that he has always admired Simbu’s attitude. “That’s why they call him Little Supertstar. He’s handsome, aggressive, emotional, romantic and everything.”

In his short and sweet speech, ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam recounted an incident when he first met and spoke to Kamal. “After that meeting, his brother, Mr. Charuhasan, took me to Mr. Mahendran, a filmmaker I love and was eager to meet. Mr. Charuhasan introduced me, and because he was tired after shooting a schedule on a ship, Mr. Mahendran offered to sit with him and have a beer. I was quite furious because he neither offered me a chance as an assistant director nor offered me a beer. He later told me that he had helped me by doing so.” The filmmaker then said that when he returned to meet Kamal, the latter tasked him and actor-screenwriter Kitty a.k.a Raja Krishnamoorthy to adapt an English novel. “He then asked me to narrate that script to Bharathiraja, a narration that the filmmaker still teases me for. That’s when I realised that I have to fight my fight to the top.”

The filmmaker then thanked Kamal for offering him Nayakan at such a difficult time. “That was the big break, and it liberated me. Until that film, producers used to say, ‘You don’t know anything, so do as I say.’ Every film was a battle. After Nayakan, they said, ‘We don’t know, so you do as you wish.’ I got a total liberation.”

Meanwhile, composer AR Rahman kept his speech too short. He thanked Kamal and Mani Ratnam for the opportunity. “I liked how, while scoring, every frame looked like a picture by itself,” he said.

On the other hand, Silambarasan got a thunderous welcome at the venue even before he could begin his speech. After thanking AR Rahman for offering him support during a tumultuous time, Silambarasan recounted how, as a child artist, he was upset that he was not cast for a role in Mani Ratnam’s 1990 film Anjali. “Because I was the same age, and was acting in films as well. They gave me some reasons to pacify me. I thought ‘Okay, he will never call us to act in his films.’ Moreover, you all know the kind of mass masala films I started doing as a lead later on.” Simbu narrated how Mani Ratnam offered him a role in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam at a time when he had a red card issued against him by the Tamil Producers Council. “Producers were scared of making films with me. Directors stopped approaching me with scripts. And that’s when I got a call from Madras Talkies, stating that Mani sir has requested to meet me. So when everyone was scared to offer me a film, he placed his trust in me, and he called me. I will never forget that, sir. Not only Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, sir has called me for every film since then; he called me Ponniyin Selvan as well but I couldn’t do it due to some reasons,” said Simbu, before thanking Kamal Haasan for the opportunity. “Every time we say that we have a lot to learn from him, he says he is still a student of cinema. I believe there’s nothing wrong to learn from a student who is as prolific and talented as you, sir.”

Silambarasan then got emotional as he expressed his gratitude to his parents, T Rajendar and Usha Rajendar. “Usually, parents take their children to the beach, park, or movies, or ask them to study well. But right from when I was a child, my parents taught me to act. It was very difficult back then; while other children were having fun, I had to balance acting and studies. I used to wonder why they were putting me through such difficulties, but now, after forty years, I am getting an opportunity to act alongside Kamal sir. And now, everyone’s saying Simbu knows how to act, dance and sing right from a young age. The reason for all that is my parents,” added the star, before promising Kamal and Mani Ratnam to work hard and promise to do good by the trust they have placed in him.

Meanwhile, the film’s female lead, Trisha, said that it was an honour to have worked with Kamal, Mani, and Rahman four times each. ”Some films are more special than others, perhaps because of the people involved in the film, their passion and hard work. Kamal sir keeps saying he is a student of cinema, and I have to say this, I have learnt so much from him. I feel honoured to call him my mentor, teacher, friend and co-actor,” said Trisha. “When I first came to Mani sir’s office for Thug Life, we were both unsure if I would suit this role because it’s an extreme opposite of Kundavai from Ponniyin Selvan. But I hope I have pulled it off, and I hope you all like it,” added the actor.

Also starring Aishwarya Lekshmi and Mahesh Manjrekar among others, Thug Life boasts a powerful technical crew including the likes of cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, editor Sreekar Prasad and stunt directors Anbariv. Produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies, and Red Giant Movies, the film is set to release in theatres on June 5.

Published - May 25, 2025 05:28 pm IST