Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and actor Kamal Haasan’s highly-anticipated film Thug Life is set to hit the theatres in a few days. In an interview with SCREEN ahead of the Tamil action drama’s release, the duo discussed how audiences are quick to label a film ‘bad’—and why they choose to embrace differing public opinions.
When asked if there’s anything like a ‘bad film’, Ratnam replied, “I am an audience first. If I don’t like a film, it is a bad film. That’s how you look at it, you can’t pretend it’s not there. But as a maker, what you try to do is put your best in front. You try to make a good film. You want it to be a hit, but you also want it to be sensible, intelligent, engaging, and logical. So, that’s what you try to do.”
The filmmaker added that it’s important to accept the audience’s diverse opinions. “It’s true for any art, isn’t it? Art is something that reaches you individually. It’s your perspective. You have to anticipate and accept the diversity in views.”
While Kamal Haasan agreed with Mani Ratnam’s point of view, he also mentioned that it isn’t possible to satisfy the entire population. “It’s a cooperative effort. This is the most democratic art I’ve ever known. That’s why we give the choice to people of liking or not liking our film. We only hope the demography of those who like is slightly bigger at least. Because it’s 1.4 billion people, how can I satisfy all of them?” he expressed.
In other news, Haasan has sparked controversy with his “Kannada was born out of Tamil” remark. Several groups, including the Kannada Rakshana Vedike, and politicians have demanded a public apology and threatened to ban the release of his film Thug Life in Karnataka. However, Kamal has refused to apologise, stating he doesn’t believe he said anything wrong.
Besides Kamal Haasan, Thug Life features an ensemble cast, including, Silambarasan, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nasser, Abhirami, and Aishwarya Lekshmi, with a musical score by AR Rahman. The film is set to hit the theatres on June 5.
