Thug Life, the next big offering from Tamil cinema, is carrying high expectations!
The film's dream team -- the legendary Kamal Haasan, Director Mani Ratnam, Composer A R Rahman and actors Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan and Abhirami -- launched its Hindi trailer in Mumbai.
Rediff's Mayur Sanap and Hitesh Harisinghani bring to you all the action.
Silambarasan TR, fondly called Simbu by his fans, received overwhelming requests to say a dialogue from the film. While some asked him to say a line in Tamil, others wanted it in Hindi!
The actor, looking slightly bemused, asked: "Why this problem, yaar? It's just a movie. Relax!"
But Thug Life is not just any movie.
It marks the union of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan after 38 years. The two stalwarts first worked together in the 1987 Tamil film, Nayakan.
Kamal has been recognised as one of the first 'Pan-India stars' even before the term became widely used.
"That's not all my doing. Most of it was your (the media's) doing. And then Mr K Balachander (director, Arangetram). He picked me up and brought me here. It worked. They made it work," smiled Kamal.
Trisha, who collaborates with Mani Ratnam after Ponniyin Selvan, said she was slightly apprehensive about Thug Life.
"This was very different for me. I remember when I first walked into Mani sir's office and he narrated a little line about the character... He said, 'I need you to unlearn everything that you did in PS. It's in complete contrast of that kind of a role.' It was challenging because I was wary about whether I would suit this character. But we worked a lot on that."
WATCH: What Trisha loves about the song Sugar Baby
Thug Life is the story of a gangster (Kamal Haasan) who takes a young man (Simbu) under his wing. What follows is the Kamal-Simbu face-off as they battle it out for power. The story has been written by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam.
Talking about their on-screen rivalry, Simbu admitted he was nervous during the initial days of filming Thug Life, but both Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam made him feel comfortable.
What's working with Kamal Haasan like? Simbu tells you in the video below.
Mani Ratnam spoke about his special bond with Kamal and how the superstar laid out a path for filmmakers like him.
"I was lucky that before I got into it (cinema), or just when I was trying to get into it, to be able to interact with him. So I knew there was somebody who was making a big path for all of us to come in and that's what he has done," Mani Ratnam said.
When asked about his initial impression of Kamal, the filmmaker recalled an incident during the making of Sadma.
"I remember when he was planning Sadma in Tamil, I think this is a story that I have heard so that is what etched in my mind. When he heard the narration (of Sadma), he came back and enacted that scene in the compound to tell them what the scene was."
WATCH: Kamal Haasan talks about his friendship with Mani Ratnam and their deep mutual love for cinema
Thug Life opens in cinemas on June 5.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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