Kamal Haasan's 'Thug Life' drops official title track 'Viveli Nayaga'
Haasan's daughter actress-singer Shruti Haasan has delivered a vocal performance in the track/4
Showcasing a more epic side of the upcoming action-thriller-drama feature, the track is particularly notable for its plethora of emotions, combining rage, will, sorrow, love, and hope all into one song.
Bringing about a sense of gravitas and panache, 'Vinveli Nayaga' brings together an eclectic fusion of voices and talents, with Nikhita Gandhi, A.R. Ameen, and rapper Prashanth Venkat all collaborating in a fiery sonic brew, complete with the evocative lyrics of lyricist Mehboob.
Rahman, one who knows his art and the required soundscape, has left an open space with just enough verb and polish, without sounding artificial or too loud. The production is sonically everything the song requires, giving it proper breathing space, and sublimely merging the vocals, and instrumentation into a splendid mix.
Scheduled to release on June 5, the film is directed by the legendary Mani Ratnam, 'Thug Life' boasts an ensemble cast of stellar performers.
Apart from Kamal Haasan, the movie also stars Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Ali Fazal, Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf, among others. UNI ANV SSP
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A regular reappraisal of old masters should be made standard practice in all art. Just because someone made a good movie once doesn't mean that they should be given immunity from bad reviews for the rest of their lives. Sure, making Piku and October and Gulabo Sitabo and Sardar Udham (in a row!) allows you one I Want to Talk, but that's all. It is only when certain sacred cows are nudged out of (self) harm's way that they can introspect. Had somebody somebody pointed out the obvious to Sanjay Leela Bhansali years ago, we wouldn't have had to endure Heeramandi. Had someone criticised Nayakan for what it is — a blatant act of plagiarism — we wouldn't have had to witness director Mani Ratnam and star Kamal Haasan doing it all over again in Thug Life. The gangster drama was released on Netflix merely four weeks after it flopped in theaters. Thug Life debuted to intense scrutiny, seeing as it marked the filmmaker and actor's first collaboration in nearly four decades. 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Ali Fazal's character pops out of nowhere and shoots him dead. Nobody cares about this guy; why was he given this responsibility at all? It sucks the air out of an already deflated movie. Sakthivel survives, and seemingly retires from a life of crime. Since he wasn't the one who was forced to kill his adopted son, he suffers no guilt. He just… exists. If anything, he seems to miss murder and mayhem. At least, this is what the movie seems to imply when it has Sakhtivel slip on his gangster glasses in the middle of a field. There's is no discernible reason for Amaran to have been killed in his place, unless you count causing trauma to his long-lost sister as probable cause. It's a truly puzzling creative choice that feels completely at home in a truly puzzling film. But the Indian film industry is a funny place. Only in our country can a movie like Nayakan be considered one of the GOATs. It should ideally be disqualified from any such discussion on plagiarism grounds alone. Forget being sued, or worse, shunned — plagiarism is the worst crime that a creative person can commit — Ratnam and Haasan have spent the last three-and-a-half decades basking in that film's success. This is the only reason why they've felt empowered to pull the same trick again. And while Thug Life has been criticised for several reasons, its kleptomania has seemingly been forgiven. Is this because of Indian cinema's long history of taking 'inspiration' from international films? Has this practice been so normalised that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow anymore? Also read – MobLand review: Tom Hardy grunts his way through Guy Ritchie's soapy homage to The Godfather It's worth investigating, isn't it? Because there's only a fine line separating thievery from tribute. Ramu made Sarkar, but his brash acknowledgement of its unoriginality shouldn't excuse him from a rap on the knuckles. Some years ago, Mahesh Narayanan directed Malik, the rare Indian Godfather rip-off that stands on its own two feet. It aped the original not in plot, but in tone and texture. And that's really the best way that a filmmaker can respectfully honour a movie they love. The reason why Thug Life doesn't have even a fraction of The Godfather's emotional heft, even though it's so indebted to that film, is because it is clueless about one hard fact: The Godfather isn't a gangster movie, it's a family tragedy. By allowing Sakhtivel to survive, the movie is shamelessly holding out out hope for a sequel, and, in doing so, disrespecting the story it's telling. Post Credits Scene is a column in which we dissect new releases every week, with particular focus on context, craft, and characters. Because there's always something to fixate about once the dust has settled. Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
