New Delhi: Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life has courted a massive controversy after the legendary actor remarked on the origin of the Kannada language, saying that he has nothing to apologise for. Recently, the high court strongly criticised Kamal for his remarks suggesting that “Kannada was born out of Tamil”, highlighting that he may be a big star but has no right to hurt the sentiments of the people of Karnataka. The court also said that a single apology could have solved the issue.
However, Kamla Haasan has refused to apologise and even decided to halt the release of his film in the southern state until they engage in a dialogue with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, which has demanded an apology and banned the film’s screening in the state. As the film is set to release this week, let’s explore all the details about the upcoming movie.
Kamal Haasan starrer Thug Life is slated to release in theatres on June 5, except in the state of Karnataka, following the Kannada row. Directed by Mani Ratnam, the movie also stars Trisha Krishnan, Silambarasan, Abhirami, Nassar, Ashok Selvan, and Aishwarya Lekshmi, among others.
Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life is expected to earn Rs 9.76 crore with block seats on its opening day. The movie has sold around 2 lakh tickets in all languages, except Kannada. The movie is running at around 8432 shows across the country, according to trade analyst Sacnilk. Even though numbers look good for a Tamil movie, the advance sales business is lower than Kamal’s last two releases, Indian 2 and Vikram. While Vikram, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, recorded advance sales of Rs 15.3 crore gross, Indian 2 grossed Rs 17.9 crore in pre-sales.
Despite the movie not releasing in Karnataka, Thug Life is expected to gross between Rs 15 to Rs 17 crore on its opening day.
Meanwhile, actor Kamal Haasan is set to address the media in Chennai on June 4, just a day before the much-awaited release of his upcoming movie, Thug Life. On Monday (June 2), the actor said that he was exercising his constitutional right to free expression and would not apologise as the remarks were made during a promotional event out of love and admiration for the late Kannada star Rajkumar’s family.
