Thug Life Was a Trap (And I Loved It)

Thug Life might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it was most definitely mine.

Sure, I admit the writing felt bleak at times and some character arcs deserved more breathing space but beyond those cracks lies a directorial vision that’s rare to come by in mainstream Tamil cinema. This might sound biased, especially since I’ve always admired Mani Ratnam but as a film student myself, I’ve tried to look at Thug Life with both heart and craft.

At its core, Thug Life presents a familiar story betrayal and revenge. We’ve seen this in Tamil cinema countless times but what sets this one apart is the treatment. Mani Ratnam, with his signature flair, paints his characters in varying shades of grey and translates that ambiguity with haunting visual poetry.

SPOILERS AHEAD – You’ve Been Warned

Let me talk about the little things, the filmmaking nuances I caught while watching and discussing post screening thoughts with a friend I took to the movie.

First off, Amar (played by STR) felt like the true protagonist of this film. If the storytelling had been centered more around him, I genuinely believe many of the critiques about “emotional disconnect” would’ve faded away. STR brings a vulnerability that anchors the chaos around him, and I wish the narrative allowed more space for his journey to unfold.

Then comes Trisha quietly brilliant. Her character had so much potential and while she didn’t always have the loudest lines, she didn’t need them. Her performance in the second half, especially in the beach scene, is a masterclass in subtlety. A friend of mine pointed out how the entire sequence feels like it’s pulled from the visual playbook of Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave. And now that I think of it — it’s true. That scene wasn’t just a conversation but was an emotional chess match. STR was asking questions but Trisha was baring her soul with least coherence . Easily one of the best cinematic moments of the year.

A Visual Experience

The opening sequence floored me — black-and-white cinematography, swift camera movements, and a de-aged Kamal Haasan. It was bold, evocative, and paired beautifully with A.R. Rahman’s hauntingly poetic “Anju Vanna Poove.” I wish we’d seen more of that visual style. The black-and-white aesthetic wasn’t just stylish it was emotionally grounding. Even with the change of anamorphic lenses to spherical lenses in the second half these shots were on par to international standards.

Mani Ratnam’s use of double exposure to peel back the layers of the past is also worth highlighting. It’s not a new technique, but in Thug Life, it’s done with such conviction that every flashback felt like an emotional rupture not just a plot device. These are the kind of choices that remind you why Mani Ratnam is… well, Mani Ratnam.

Where It Faltered

Not everything worked. Some characters were painfully underdeveloped. Certain sequences dragged, and the narrative flow suffered from a lack of coherence. A tighter edit and more daring screenplay choices would have elevated Thug Life into the kind of film that gets remembered for decades. It had the bones it just needed more connective tissue.

But despite its flaws, I found myself enjoying the film thoroughly.

To the Viewers

And to those who didn’t enjoy it l get you. It’s okay not to like everything. Maybe your expectations weren’t met. Maybe you walked in wanting a different kind of film. That’s valid.

But what’s not okay is bashing a filmmaker especially someone like Mani Ratnam as if a single film defines a legacy. Every film is an experiment, a gamble and  when a filmmaker takes creative risks, sometimes they don’t pay off. But that doesn’t diminish the thousands of people who poured their heart into the project.

Thug Life is not perfect. But it is a film that tries to be bold, to be emotional, to be different.

So here’s what I say: skip the reviews. Watch it for yourself. Feel it. Decide what it means to you.

Because that’s what cinema is about — not just watching, but experiencing