Thirty-six years after the Tamil cult classic Nayakan was released, veteran actor Kamal Haasan and filmmaker Mani Ratnam are reuniting for another epic.
The duo revealed the title, Thug Life, the day before Kamal’s birthday on Nov 7, reported the Hindustan Times. The film also stars Jayam Ravi, Dulquer Salman and Trisha.
In a promotional video, Kamal, draped in a robe, introduces himself as Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakan. He stands in the middle of a barren, misty land, facing five armed men ready to charge at him.
The camera then reveals Kamal’s face, sporting a thick moustache and beard.
As the men approach him, he lets go of his cloak, revealing long locks. He then goes on to systematically and calmly take down the group. After eliminating all of them, he puts on his cloak again and smiles at the camera.
“It seems it was decided on my birth that Sakthivel Naicker would be a criminal, a goonda, a Yakuza,” Kamal is heard saying.
The character’s name has generated a lot of discussion on social media – in Nayakan, Kamal played Sakhtivel, a powerful gangster raised in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum.
Netizens are suggesting that the movie is a Nayakan spin-off as the grandson of the feared gangster Velu Naicker, on whom Kamal’s character is based, is also named Sakthivel.
Moverover, Naicker’s daughter Charumathi (played by Karthika) introduces her son to her father minutes before Naicker is shot dead on court premises. One theory is that Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakan in Thug Life is the young boy himself.
Another theory is that the name is an amalgamation of the characters played by Kamal in his previous films – Rangarajan in Dasavatharam, Sakthivel in Thevar Magan and Sathi Leelavathi, and Velu Naicker in Nayakan.
Indo-Asian News Service
