Kamal Haasan's latest film, Thug Life did face an unexpected delay in Karnataka, after being denied a scheduled release due to controversy surrounding the actor’s past comments about the Kannada language. The issue escalated to the courts, and finally the Supreme Court reaffirmed that a cinema release cannot be legally stopped over such grounds.
However, even with the green light from the courts, the film is still not being screened in Karnataka, and this time, it’s the distributor who has pulled the plug.
Venkatesh Kamalakar, who had acquired the Karnataka distribution rights under VR Films, confirmed that Thug Life will not be released in the state — at least not by him.
“We are not planning to release, and, we will not release. We had taken the distribution rights for Thug Life, but could not release it earlier for reasons already known,” he says.
When asked if the film might still hit screens later, Venkatesh explains: “It’s already been two weeks. The film is underperforming everywhere, collections are falling, and multiplexes are not enthusiastic. Moreover, the multiplexes now offer only 30 per cent of the original expectations."
Insiders say financial issues are also part of the problem. A reliable source reveals to Cinema Express that the producer has yet to repay a significant advance amount back to the distributor, which runs up to crores, and its settlement is still pending.
However, Venkatesh, not talking about the business terms says, “If the production house wants to release the film directly, they can go through another distributor. But they can take a call, only after they settlement is made."
When asked if someone else could distribute Thug Life in Karnataka, Venkatesh responds firmly: “No. Without our confirmation, they cannot distribute. Moreover, haven’t received any intimation from the producers or multiplex chains, about the film's release in Karnataka. And to be honest, we’re not interested anymore.”
Despite the buzz around the project — with a dream team of Kamal Haasan, director Mani Ratnam, and music maestro AR Rahman — Venkatesh admits expectations were high, but things went downhill fast. “The hype was there, but everything got messed up,” he reveals.
Talking on the incident, Venkatesh, a veteran with over four decades of experience, shares his perspective: “I’ve been in this business for 40 years. If we haven’t learnt anything by now, we never will. Sometimes you gain, sometimes you lose — it’s part of the trade. Situations like this are rare, but we must face them.”
Asked about future projects, Venkatesh says, “There’s still time. We’ll be distributing Dhanush’s Idly Kadai next.”
