Kamal Haasan on reunion with Mani Ratnam in Thug Life: ‘We are sorry for the delay…’

At the Thug Life press meet in Chennai, Kamal Haasan opened up about what kept them from working together since Nayakan. “Honestly, we have spoken about collaborating many times since Nayakan, but both were not saying Yes for the same projects, and when we said ‘Yes’ the markets said ‘No.’ Finally, a huge thanks to the audience who have created the space for this reunion that has allayed all the questions raised by the producers, distributors, etc…” said Kamal Haasan.

Notably, both Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam are riding on the blockbuster successes of their respective productions like Vikram, Amaran, and Ponniyin Selvan. This might have resulted in a conducive atmosphere for this reunion. Nevertheless, Kamal Haasan also spoke about how the gap between the films never really resulted in a gap in their friendship.

“We dreamt a lot of things together in our formative years, and we are still trying to fulfil them despite the years we have spent in cinema. Nayakan was one such dream, and Thug Life is another,” said Kamal Haasan, expressing his gratitude to the audience for carrying both of them in their shoulders for all these years. “For the belief you had on us, Thug Life is our peace offering. We are sorry for not collaborating all these years.”

In what stands testament to the mutual admiration between the two legends of Indian cinema, Kamal Haasan compared Mani Ratnam to his guru and mentor K Balachander. “Right from the time we all used to hang out together as dreamers of cinema, and even when working in Nayakan and Thug Life, I have observed how Mani Ratnam only spoke about cinema. He reminded me of K Balachander sir,” said Kamal Haasan, who also had words of praise for his co-star Silambarasan TR, and his father, the multi-faceted T Rajendherr.

“His father has shown me unadulterated love, and has often bowled me over with his expression of affection. While I thought this was restricted to just T Rajendherr, I saw that the love from Simbu was even more,” said Kamal Haasan, who also praised Simbu’s acting and dancing talent, and compared both their journeys from being a child star to a lead actor.

Thug Life is not just the reunion of Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan, but also marks AR Rahman’s first film with the actor-filmmaker in 25 years. They last worked together in KS Ravikumar’s Thenali, and Kamal spoke about how Rahman’s quest for learning and knowledge inspires him. “We both love cinema, and the biggest thing I’ve learned from both Mani and Rahman is that we should only speak what’s needed and when it is needed.”

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Kamal Haasan leads an impressive ensemble in Thug Life, which includes actors like Trisha, Abhirami, Sanjana, Nasser, Vaiyapuri, Ali Fazal, Joju George, Ashok Selvan and Vadivukkarasi. The film is set to hit the screens on June 5, and will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.