At the audio launch of the much-anticipated Thug Life on Saturday, veteran actor Kamal Haasan lauded Joju George’s performance in the Malayalam film Iratta, singling out his skill in portraying dual roles. “I didn’t know who Joju was. Then, suddenly, I found myself watching all his films. There’s a film called Iratta,” Kamal said.
Reflecting on his own experience of playing multiple roles, he added, “I must have done about thirty double roles in my career. In Michael Madana Kama Rajan, there wasn’t much difference in the make-up. By the final scenes, we used the same makeup for all the characters. That’s what I’m proud of. But Joju, right from the early days, managed double roles with such subtlety. He’d be in the same police station, playing different brothers. And yet, you could immediately tell, this one’s that brother, and this one’s the other.” He added, “Joju, you’re one of the actors I envy.” At this point, Joju stood up, folded his hands, and thanked Kamal respectfully.
Kamal also made a light-hearted comment about Thug Life’s action choreographers, the Anbariv twins, noting how he often struggles to distinguish between Anbu and Arivu due to their similar appearances, which the duo always take in good humour. Reflecting on his approach to the industry, Kamal remarked, “I consider even those who merely aspire to act as my competition. But I also believe it’s my duty to welcome them. I hope we all share that spirit.”
Joju later responded to Kamal’s comments via Instagram on Sunday, describing the moment as his “dream come true”. He wrote: “Thank you, Kamal sir, this is my dream come true. I dreamt of getting big awards. But for me, your wonderful words and appreciation of my acting really made me win my Oscar yesterday. You are such a big superstar. You are our universal role model. I am a good disciple of you; we always look forward to all your minute movements in acting. So, getting such an appreciation from you is my real Oscar.”
Thug Life marks Kamal’s reunion with director Mani Ratnam, 38 years after their iconic Nayakan (1987). Featuring music by AR Rahman, the upcoming film will be released worldwide on June 5. Also starring in key roles are Simbu, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Abhirami, Nasser, and Aishwarya Lekshmi.