Kamal Haasan doubles down on eight-week theatrical window for ‘Thug Life’: We hope others will follow

Silambarasan TR and Kamal Haasan in ‘Thug Life’.

The eight-week window between the theatrical and OTT releases of Thug Life is a ‘pragmatic’ decision beneficial to all stakeholders, actor-producer Kamal Haasan said at a trailer showcase in Mumbai on Tuesday (May 20, 2025) evening. 

Thug Life—a splashy, emotional gangster drama—reunites Kamal with his Nayakan director Mani Ratnam. The duo is collaborating on a film after 36 years. Co-starring Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan and several others, Thug Life is slated for release in theatres on June 5. It will stream on Netflix following the eight-week holdback period. 

“It’s not even an experiment but the pragmatic thing to do,” said Kamal, who has produced Thug Life under his banner Raaj Kamal Films International along with Ratnam’s Madras Talkies and Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies. 

While the eight-week gap is cited as a distribution norm, many movies since the pandemic have opted for dynamic windowing, ending up on OTT anywhere between four to eight weeks. For instance, the upcoming Hindi film Bhool Chuk Maaf, following a legal dispute and a settlement, will be available on Prime Video just two weeks after its theatrical release on May 23. 

“I’m glad the OTT partners sat down with us and agreed. It wasn’t a negotiation; it was a plan. We hope others can follow this and it will make the industry healthy,” Kamal, 70, said. 

Earlier, Allu Arjun’s megahit Pushpa 2: The Rule also premiered on Netflix after completing its eight-week exclusive run in theatres. 

Kamal and Mani Ratnam graced the event in Mumbai alongside STR, Ashok Selvan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami and music maestro AR Rahman. 

Kamal looked back at the days of shooting of Nayakan in Mumbai in the late 80s. “We were in the Colaba area (in South Bombay) and director Ramesh Sippy was shooting in Film City. We had some shots to be done in Film City so we all went to see the shooting of Mr. Ramesh Sippy. We are, ultimately, film buffs. That is the qualification that has brought us here.” 

Published - May 20, 2025 10:28 pm IST