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Thug Life review
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Filmi Score
Weak
16 reviews
34
What the critics say
Audience Score · not yet · appears once three readers have written a review
Critics mostly call Thug Life a predictable, overlong Mani Ratnam rehash that collapses after the interval, though many still credit Kamal Haasan's screen presence, the cinematography and a few songs as the only things worth watching for.
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16+
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Summary
Thug Life (2025, Tamil) has a Filmi Score of 34 from 16 critic reviews, is rated 16+ by Filmi (CBFC: U/A 16+), and streams on Netflix in the US.
In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manikkam rescue a young boy, Amaran, during a violent police shootout and raise him as their own. Years later, when an assassination attempt shakes Sakthivel's empire, suspicion turns inward. Consumed by vengeance, Sakthivel sets out to destroy the very family he once built.
Where to watchAvailability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.
Box office collection
₹$≈ at ₹88/$, as of 26 Oct 2026
₹97.44 CrWorldwide gross in 57 days
India gross₹56.24 Cr
Overseas gross₹41.20 Cr
As of 26 Aug 2026 · Sacnilk
view →
Cast & crew
Cast
Directed by Mani Ratnam · written by Mani Ratnam & Kamal Haasan · music A.R. Rahman
Mani RatnamDirector · Writer
Kamal HaasanWriter
A.R. RahmanMusic
Ravi K. ChandranCinematography
Sreekar PrasadEditing
Kamal HaasanLead
Silambarasan
Trisha Krishnan
Abhirami
Ashok Selvan
Aishwarya Lekshmi
Nassar
Joju George
Ali Fazal
Sanjana Krishnamoorthy
Mahesh Manjrekar
Tanikella Bharani
Full crew
SoundAnand Krishnamoorthi · Craig Mann
Production designSharmishta Roy · Sachin Dubale Patil · Neeraj Kumar Singh · Nenad Zdero
CostumeEka Lakhani · Amritha Ram
ChoreographyKruti Mahesh Midya · Brinda Gopal
LyricsKarthik Netha · Sivakumar Ananth · Kamal Haasan · A.R. Rahman · Shuba · Paal Dabba · Prashanth Venkat
VFXH. Monesh · Salar Jabarzadeh · Uday Kumar Kongathi
ActionAnbumani · Arivumani · Slaviša Ivanović · Irakli Sabanadze
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Summary
In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manikkam rescue a young boy, Amaran, during a violent police shootout and raise him as their own. Years later, when an assassination attempt shakes Sakthivel's empire, suspicion turns inward. Consumed by vengeance, Sakthivel sets out to destroy the very family he once built.
Where to watch
Availability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.What the critics said
16 reviews · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Five of 16 · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Ganesh Aaglave · 5 Jun 2025
Thug Life movie review: Kamal Haasan oozes swag & charm in Mani Ratnam's stylish action-thriller Read it there →
Published · 3/5
Filmi’s reading 70
60
YouTube · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
Tyagi finds Thug Life visually grand and Silambarasan's performance strong, but faults weak, underwritten women, a structural mess, shifting… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
62
Nandini Ramnath · 5 Jun 2025
Ramnath credits Ratnam's directorial craft and the lead performances by Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan for making a slight, familiar gangster plot… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
52
Unni Narayanan · YouTube, Malayalam · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
The critic finds Thug Life a well-mounted but wholly predictable Mani Ratnam recycling of old formulas — enjoying Kamal Haasan's screen presence,… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
45
YouTube, Malayalam · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
In a comic, mocking register, the critic dismisses Thug Life as a clichéd Mani Ratnam potboiler recycling scenes and lines from his own earlier… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
42
Saibal Chatterjee · 5 Jun 2025
Thug Life Review: Kamal Haasan's Film Definitely Needed More Life Read it there →
Published · 2/5
Filmi’s reading 33
40
Anmol Jamwal · YouTube · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
The critic praises Ravi Chandran's cinematography, a couple of songs, and Kamal Hassan and Simbu's performances, but calls the screenplay flat,… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
32
Yogi · YouTube, Hindi · rating spoken aloud · 5 Jun 2025
2/5, said on camera. Published nowhere. Watch it there →
Stated in video
Filmi’s reading 28
40
Deeksha Sharma · YouTube, Hindi · rating spoken aloud · 5 Jun 2025
2/5, said on camera. Published nowhere. Watch it there →
Stated in video
Filmi’s reading 28
40
YouTube, Telugu · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
Thyview calls Thug Life the weakest film of Maniratnam's career, faulting a poorly written script, undeveloped supporting characters, uninspired… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
28
Anandu Suresh · 5 Jun 2025
Thug Life Review: Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam’s ‘game of thrones’ is a cinematic endurance test Read it there →
Published · 1.5/5
Filmi’s reading 26
30
S Viswanath · 6 Jun 2025
Viswanath finds Thug Life a tedious, dated rehash that fails both Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, wasting a strong supporting cast on a predictable,… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
18
YouTube, Hindi · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
Suraj Kumar mocks Thug Life as a hollow, torturous gangster film with a recycled Rahman score and grating Kamal Haasan dub, calling the story a… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
15
YouTube, Telugu · transcript read · 5 Jun 2025
Poolachokka pans Thug Life as lifeless and unbearable past the interval, wasting Silambarasan and repeating Kamal Haasan's implausible survivalist… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
10
How this number was made. We read every review and derive a 0–100 reading from each — including where the critic printed a number, which stays first on its row, because it’s theirs. The Filmi Score is the mean of 16 readings; 7 of those rows also carry the critic’s own rating, shown beside ours. Rubric v2.1, computed 26 Oct 2026. Any critic can ask us to remove a derived reading.
PublishedStated in videoDerived by FilmiNo score
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Thug Life: quick answers
Box office, where to watch and what critics said — from the same data as the page.
What is Thug Life's box office collection?
Thug Life has a box office collection of ₹97.44 Cr worldwide (gross), made up of ₹56.24 Cr India gross and ₹41.20 Cr overseas gross. Figures are Sacnilk's, as of 26 Aug 2026, day 57. Grosses are contested in India, and money never feeds the Filmi Score.
How much has Thug Life collected at the box office?
Thug Life has collected ₹97.44 Cr worldwide in 57 days, as of 26 Aug 2026, according to Sacnilk.
Where can I watch Thug Life?
Thug Life is streaming on OTT: Netflix (India, the US, the UK and Canada). Availability comes from JustWatch and is checked every Friday.
What did critics say about Thug Life?
Thug Life has a Filmi Score of 34 (Weak), the mean of 16 readings of critic reviews, one per review. Readings run from 10 (Poolachokka) to 70 (Firstpost). Every review and how it was scored is listed below.
What readers say
The Audience Score appears once three readers’ reviews have been read under the rubric — built from what people write, never from the rating numbers.
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