After a gap of 36 years, the legendary pair of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, who worked together on the iconic film Nayakan, have come together again. Their upcoming project, which is Kamal Haasan’s 234th film is titled Thug Life.

A NEW NAME, A NEW HISTORY!#thuglife

âž¡ï¸Ã‚Â�https://t.co/f2s709GhTC#KH234 #Ulaganayagan #KamalHaasan #HBDKamalSir #HBDUlaganayagan @ikamalhaasan #ManiRatnam @arrahman #Mahendran @bagapath @actor_jayamravi @trishtrashers @dulQuer @MShenbagamoort3 @RKFI @MadrasTalkies_… pic.twitter.com/zuAGZFtC76

— Raaj Kamal Films International (@RKFI) November 6, 2023

The poster showcases Kamal Haasan concealed face underneath a hood along with the outlines of individuals holding weapons and standing in what appears to be a body of water.

The announcement features Kamal Haasan donning long hair with rugged clothes. 

During the teaser, Kamal introduces himself as Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakan and talks directly to the camera while a gang approaches him with weapons. He goes on to mention that he is known as Kayalpattu Kaaran and explains that from the moment he was born, people labelled him as a criminal or a Yakuza. In Japanese, the term Yakuza refers to a gangster. After saying this, Kamal removes his hood to reveal his distinctive and rough martial arts costume.

Thug Life is a joint production of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, under their respective banners Raaj Kamal Films International and Madras Talkies. The music for the film is being composed by AR Rahman, with editing by Sreekar Prasad. Cinematographer Ravi K Chandran and stunt choreographer duo AnbAriv are also part of the film crew. The makers have also welcomed Trisha Krishnan, Jayam Ravi and Dulquer Salmaan on board.

See Also: Kamal Haasan joins Prabhas and Rana Daggubati in the US for Project K’s first look at Comic Con 

Hitting out at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over the ED’s claim that he received crores from the promoters of the Mahadev betting app, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said the ruling Congress was meeting its expenses for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections with money sent from Dubai.

Speaking to ANI on a visit to the poll-bound state on Monday, the Union Minister alleged that “the person running the Mahadev app” has confessed to giving Rs 508 crore to the Chhattisgarh chief minister.

“I am shocked that the Congress is fighting the Chhattisgarh elections with support from hawala operators in Dubai. Last night, the person running the Mahadev app revealed that he had given Rs 508 crore to Bhupesh Baghel,” the Union minister told ANI.

Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh CM on Monday questioned why the Election Commission has not taken cognisance of the allegations against him in connection with the Mahadev betting app case as the poll machinery had rolled into the state and the Model Code of Conduct is in force.

“The ED (Enforcement Directorate), and IT (Income Tax) officials were present at a meeting of the Election Commission in the state. Why has the EC not taken cognisance of this? A section of the media is reporting unfounded allegations against me. The Commission should have taken suo motu cognisance of this,” Baghel said at a press conference on Monday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier named the Chhattisgarh chief minister in connection with the alleged Mahadev betting app scam, claiming that a cash courier confessed to paying Rs 508 crores to CM Baghel from the promoters of the app.

The ED claim gave the BJP fresh ammunition to come out all guns blazing at the Chhattisgarh CM during the ongoing campaign phase for the Assembly elections.

The polls for the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be conducted in two phases — November 7 and November 17 — and the counting of votes, along with those of four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3.

The other four states going to polls this month are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram.

Congress stormed to the hustings in Chhattisgarh in the 2018 elections, winning 68 of the 90 seats and hogging 43.9 per cent of the total votes polled.

The BJP had to be content with just 15 seats.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has come under fire from the Opposition and charities even as her own party colleagues distanced themselves from remarks that implied that some homeless people sleeping in tents on the streets of the country were making a “lifestyle choice”.

The Indian-origin cabinet minister announced plans on social media over the weekend to crack down on the rows of tents occupied by homeless people as they caused nuisance and distress to residents.

However, some of her language has since been challenged with the Opposition Labour Party branding it “despicable”.

“The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice,” reads Suella Braverman’s post on X.

“Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor. Nobody in Britain should be living in a tent on our streets,” she said.

The minister goes on to claim that the government has put options in place for people who do not want to be sleeping rough and is working with local authorities to strengthen “wraparound support” including treatment for those with drug and alcohol addiction.

“What I want to stop, and what the law-abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities,” added Suella Braverman.

During a visit to a gas terminal in Norfolk on Monday morning, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked by reporters if his minister’s comments were “offensive” and he declined to repeat the phrase.

“I don’t want anyone to sleep rough on our streets. That is why the government is investing GBP 2 billion over the next few years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping,” said Rishi Sunak.

“Our Homelessness Reduction Act which was a landmark law that we passed has already ensured that over 600,000 people have had their homelessness prevented or relieved so I am proud of that record. But of course, there is more to do and we will keep going so that nobody has to sleep rough on our streets,” he said.

Meanwhile, Suella Braverman’s fellow Goan-origin Cabinet colleague, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho, admitted she “wouldn’t necessarily use that language” as she attempted to defend the Home Secretary.

“I think she was talking about different things. She acknowledged that there are people who just, you know, need our compassion. They’re struggling with things like addiction,” she told ‘Sky News’.

However, Labour’s shadow leader of the Commons Lucy Powell accused Suella Braverman of seeking to divide people with such remarks.

“I think the comments of the home secretary are despicable, really. And they speak to what this government’s whole meaning now seems to be about, which is creating more division, where division isn’t needed, by trying to inflame and sort of false wedge political issues,” Lucy Powell told ‘Sky News’.

Fifteen of Britain’s homelessness charities reacted by issuing a combined letter, addressed to Suella Braverman, to caution that her plan to ban tents for the homeless will lead to “totally preventable” street deaths.

“Sleeping on the street is not a lifestyle choice. Laying blame on people forced to sleep rough will only push people further away from help into poverty, putting them at risk of exploitation. At the extreme end, we will see an increase in deaths and fatalities, which are totally preventable,” reads their letter, also posted on X.