Kamal Haasan's 'Thug Life' hits theatres, celebratory scenes play out in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: "Thug Life", Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan's 234th movie as a lead, made its debut in cinema halls across the country on Thursday and with much fanfare in his native state of Tamil Nadu, where fans queued up outside several theatres to catch the first show.

The movie, which reunites the 70-year-old actor with iconic filmmaker Mani Ratnam since 1987's "Nayakan", could not be released in Karnataka after Haasan's comments about Kannada language sparked a major controversy.

Gautam Dutta, CEO- Revenue & Operations, PVR INOX Ltd, said the film has been received well by the audiences, especially in Tamil Nadu.

“Tamil Nadu is showing excellent numbers with 60-65 per cent occupancy already. Other South regions are also performing strongly. We’re also seeing a steady rise in the North, driven by positive word of mouth.

"The film is generating strong buzz, and we expect high footfalls throughout the opening weekend. Thug Life is clearly connecting with audiences, and we’re excited to see how it continues to grow," Dutta said in a statement.

In Tamil Nadu, the film's shows started at 9 am. Outside Chennai's Rohini Theatre, the excitement was visible as crowds gathered for the first-day-first-show of Haasan's film. The venue was adorned with posters and cutouts of the movie and its stars, including Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR, and Trisha.

In the wake of a stampede in Bengaluru during IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's celebrations on Wednesday, authorities deployed significant police presence at key cinema halls across Tamil Nadu.

The beefed up security arrangement played a spoilsport to grand celebrations planned by many fans.

"We were excited for the movie. We had planned to celebrate in a grand way but the government has not given us permission for it considering law and order issues. Hence we are a little disappointed," said one of the fans.

Another fan said, "There is too much expectation from the movie. We have planned many things but the permission was not granted. Despite that we are excited and celebrating. The movie is definitely coming out well." Celebratory scenes also played out in Coimbatore where fans welcomed the arrival of Haasan's new movie in style. Musical instruments, including the Sendai Melam, were played to uplift the crowd’s spirits. The sound of drums echoed outside Archana Theatre in the flower market area.

"I have always been a great fan of Kamal Haasan. His film releases are like festivals for us. We are sure about the success of the film," said a cinephile who came to watch the movie.

"Thug Life", a gangster drama, was released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

The movie was also set to premiere in Karnataka but its release in the state was cancelled after Haasan's controversial "Kannada was born out of Tamil" remark.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the movie has earned Rs 6.16 crore in advance bookings on Wednesday. Over 3.5 lakh tickets were sold across 11,357 shows.

But the reviews from both fans and the critics have been polarising.

One fan, who watched the movie in Mumbai, found it to be "amazing".

"The direction is so good and the ending is good. After watching the film, tears came to my eyes... Kamal Hassan is an amazing actor. He does good acting from the beginning. He has made such a film that I felt very good after watching it. I got to watch a good film after a long time," the fan said.

For another fan, the movie turned out to be a lacklustre ride.

"There is not much in the film, just a lot of fighting and enmity with each other. This kind of movie cannot run. Kamal Hassan's acting is very good. He is the hero, his acting is best. And the acting of the one along with him is also good," the fan added.

"Thug Life" is jointly produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies, Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International and Ratnam’s Madras Talkies.