Second Life

Thug Life is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language gangster action drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, who co-wrote the script with Kamal Haasan. Produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Turmeric Media and Madras Talkies, the film stars Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan in the lead roles alongside Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Ali Fazal, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy and Tanikella Bharani. It marks the reunion of Haasan and Ratnam after their previous collaboration, Nayakan (1987). The film follows Rangaraaya Sakthivel, a feared mafia kingpin in New Delhi, who seeks redemption and revenge after being betrayed by his brother, Rangaraaya Manickam, and the one he raised, Amaran. The film was officially announced in November 2022 under the tentative title KH234, as it is Haasan's 234th film as a lead actor, and the official title was revealed a year later. Principal photography took place from January to late 2024 across Chennai, Kanchipuram, Pondicherry, New Delhi, and parts of North India. The film has music composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography handled by Ravi K. Chandran, and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. Thug Life was released theatrically on 5 June 2025 in India by Red Giant Movies in standard, IMAX and EPIQ formats to mixed response from critics, who praised the performances of Kamal Hassan and Silambarasan, the cinematography and the staging, but criticized the second half's predictable screenplay. Though the movie underperformed, it became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2025.