Meet ‘Thugs’ of Mani Ratnam

CHENNAI: Evening in Chennai was cloudy with rain clouds approaching. But the team of Thug Life lit it up with their presence that came along with an unstoppable energy. Each of them were in their element as they spoke about the film and even cracked jokes. Dressed in a signature black attire, Kamal Haasan walked in first followed by Silambarasan TR in a denim shirt and long hair. AR Rahman in a denim overcoat and brown sunglasses was looking nothing less than a star from the cast ensemble followed by Trisha who looked as pretty as a picture in a grey saree with red polka dots.

Before the team could talk anything about Thug Life that marks Kamal Haasan’s collaboration with Mani Ratnam in 38 years after Nayakan, the actor clarifies that Thug Life is anything but Nayakan. “Had Mani and I set out to make Nayakan or a sequel to it or even something similar to it, we would have made an announcement that Thug Life is so and so. But the very first discussion we had was that it shouldn’t resemble Nayakan in any frame,” he begins.

Lot has changed since the time they did Nayakan. “We have evolved. Mani has evolved a lot as a director. I have evolved as an actor and even AR Rahman has evolved so much as a composer. Though we call each other by our expertise or craft, we are collectively called artistes. We have come together to provide a good theatrical experience for the audience with Thug Life,” adds Kamal.

Trisha Krishnan has previously worked with both Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan. Coming to Thug Life, when asked Trisha about the camaraderie she shared with her co-stars, she says, “I know both of them so well. Kamal sir has been a mentor in my cinematic journey. STR and I have done a couple of films together. When it came to Thug Life, I would call it a safe space that includes Mani sir as well. Fortunately, we never felt any challenges coming into the sets.”

Mani Ratnam has cast Trisha in back-to-back films after Ponniyin Selvan franchise and now Thug Life. “Doing Ponniyin Selvan after Aayutha Ezhuthu helped me in understanding Mani sir more. In a way, I have grown up with him as I am trained by the best. Such frequent collaborations will help us in understanding each other. He knows what he can extract from me with me staying in my comfort zone yet,” says the actor.

It’s been a while since we met Silambarasan, and he has undergone a massive change in his approach. “That tends to happen with age and experience. I cannot be the same person that I used to be 10-15 years ago. My actions today that you see are proportionate to my age,” he opens up and AR Rahman couldn’t resist but tells STR, “No. They are not asking you about that. It is about your wedding. Tell them when you are getting married.” Kamal gives a queue to STR and says, “Ask them whose wedding they are asking about. It’s an easy way out.”

Rahman and Mani Ratnam have been working together 33 years now since Roja. “He has seen it. When I was majorly based in Chennai, he was there. When I did Lord Of The Rings, and Bombay Dreams, he came to London. He has seen me in Mumbai and even a few of my virtual creations. Our common purpose is to serve cinema and that makes us strive hard,” he responds.