Thug Life: No Karnataka release; no apology for misunderstanding, states Kamal Haasan
Thug Life: Kamal Haasan had moved the Karnataka HC to enable the release of Thug Life in the state, following the ban imposed by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce
Thug Life
Last Updated: 06.09 PM, Jun 03, 2025
It’s been decided; audiences in Karnataka will not get to see the Kamal Haasan and Silambarasan led Mani Ratnam directorial Thug Life this Thursday. The film is set for a June 5, 2025 global release, but with Kamal refusing to issue an apology in a recent language row that he sparked, it has been banned for release in the state by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
Kamal had sought the Karnataka High Court’s intervention in the matter, but did not get much respite, following which, his counsel announced that the actor-producer has decided not to release it in Karnataka at this point.
Kamal has said that there will be no apology, as there’s been no mistake, but only a misunderstanding. The case has been posted to June 10, 2025, by which time it will become clear if the actor will bring Thug Life to Karnataka at all or not. His counsel has said that the film team intends to engage in conversation with the Karnataka Film Camber of Commerce to sort out the issue.
Thug Life issue to impact release of other Tamil films?
Industry insiders, however, say that that no matter what unfolds on June 10, the decision to ban the release will have far-reaching repercussions. For instance, the release of Thalapathy Vijay’s last commercial film Jana Nayagan, which has been produced by Bengaluru-based KVN Productions is likely to be affected if the two industries do not sort out this issue at the earliest. Jana Nayagan is slated for release on Jan 9, 2026. Rajinikanth’s Coolie is the next big release from Tamil Nadu.
Netizens, meanwhile, are divided about this latest development, with some arguing that the decision to not release Thug Life in Karnataka is not owing to an issue between industries, but more to do with Kamal Haasan’s “ego”, which prevents him from apologizing and putting an end to this chapter. “You have to bend to mend things”, said some social media users.