Kamal Haasan is in the city to promote his upcoming film Thug Life, which releases on June 5. Directed by Mani Ratnam, this film marks the reunion of the iconic duo after many years. At the pre-release event, Kamal Haasan spoke about the film and his passion for cinema. While others referred to Kamal as a “Guru” and “Dronacharya,” he humbly disagreed.
“Don’t call me Dronacharya or Guru, because I can’t teach you anything. I am still learning from everyone; I am a student of cinema. You can learn along with me from them. We are fanatics about cinema—we carry our cinema on our shoulders, and that’s what we are doing,” Kamal said at the event.
He stated that Thug Life would be a bigger success than their earlier collaboration, Nayakudu. “I don’t have to act in Mani Ratnam’s film, I just behave. But with others, I misbehave—on request,” Kamal joked. He reflected on how cinema has been his lifelong teacher. “I didn’t go to any school. I started as a child artiste and learned everything from cinema. Whenever I do a film with heart, it’s always successful. I believe Thug Life will surpass Nayakudu,” he said.
Kamal also praised actor Nasser, highlighting their long association, and spoke warmly about Simbhu, whom he has known since childhood. He encouraged Thanikella Bharani to write more scripts. “Thanikella Bharani was supposed to write dialogues for my film Indrudu Chandrudu, but it didn’t happen. Now he’s an actor too, but you should still write more. You’ll get paid for writing too!” he quipped. Kamal ended his speech with heartfelt remarks on cinema and his fellow artists.
