Kamal Haasan continues to fight against Karnataka govt for banning Thug Life despite its box office failure: ‘It violates constitutional rights’

Kamal Haasan's Thug Life did not release in Karnataka but the actor is continuing his fight against the unlawful ban.

New Delhi | June 14, 2025 03:34 PM IST

Kamal Haasan is planning to release Thug Life early on OTT.

Thug Life has shockingly become the worst performing film for both Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam in the last few years. The much-awaited collaboration has miserably failed at the box office as it has not even reached Rs 50 crore in nine days in theatres. These numbers, obviously, exclude what the film could have possibly made in Karnataka as the film never released in the state after Kamal’s controversial statement on the origin of the Kannada language.

Despite the film’s poor reception, Kamal and his team are continuing their fight against the government that did not allow their film’s release. The makers of Thug Life, in a petition in Supreme Court, have alleged that despite CBFC certification, the film is facing a ban in Karnataka due to threats from private groups. They have also alleged that the state authorities have failed to intervene in this seemingly unlawful activity.

The statement was made on the basis of a threat given to the owner of Victory Cinema, a theatre in Bengaluru, which announced its intent to screen the Kamal Haasan-starrer despite opposition from groups like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. TA Narayana Gowda, member of the group, publicly threatened to set the “theaters on fire” if they dared to screen Thug Life. In the petition, the makers argued that the violent threats violate the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. A Velan, the lawyer representing Kamal and his team, told Hindustan Times, “A fringe group issued threats of large-scale violence, including burning of theatres and attacks against members of the Tamil linguistic minority residing in Karnataka. Despite these open and public threats, not a single FIR was registered, nor was any prosecution initiated by the State Government.”

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Now, the Supreme Court has issued notice to the State of Karnataka on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the “extra-judicial ban” on the screening of the Mani Ratnam-Kamal Haasan film.

Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life earned just Rs 75 lakh on its ninth day, much worse than his previous flop Indian 2. Indian 2 ended its domestic run at Rs 81.9 crore.

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