A Promising Gangster Drama Bogged Down by a Generic Revenge Saga

BLOOD, Brotherhood, Betrayal. From the time world cinema began to be fascinated by the lives of gangsters, these three words have been the bedrock of every iteration of their story. More often than not, these gangsters escape the long arms of the law only to find themselves on the wrong end of the gun barrel. Godfather was no different. Nayakan was no different. And even if we thought otherwise, or were told otherwise, Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan's Thug Life, after a point, is no different.

- AVINASH RAMACHANDRAN

But till we reach that point, the film is a fascinating exploration of the life of an ageing gangster coming to terms with his frailties, and dealing with the same with sardonic wit and insatiable lust. But then, suddenly, Thug Life wants to become a revenge drama fuelled by age-old reasons for betrayal that makes you wonder... Is this really the Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan film we were waiting for?

When we meet Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakkar (Kamal Haasan) for the first time, he is battling the idea of death. He is a senior citizen who seems to have developed a knack for escaping the clutches of death. However, as he narrates his story, we are introduced to the world of young Amar, who would grow up to be Sakthivel's commander-in-chief. Mani Ratnam and the supremely effective Ravi K Chandran dish out a delicious sequence that gets us ready for a ride about two men, born out of violence, finding their lives inexplicably intertwined.

Thug Life is very much about how these two strong-headed men find themselves at loggerheads. But it is also about how they are two ends of the same coin.

This coin is tossed around by various people around them, including Sakthivel's brother Manikkam (Nasser), his henchmen Pathros (Joju George) and Anburaj (Bagavathi Perumal). Each of them have their reasons to want to be close to the throes of power, and it is interesting how they all play off each other and weave a web of deceit and lies. This is a particularly fascinating phase in the film because it is not every day that we see a vulnerable gangster. These portions play out like a Shakespearean tragedy riddled with wry humour that works like a dream.