Will Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life land on OTT earlier than expected? Hint: Netflix might fast track the premiere

Dubai: There was swagger. There was style. There was Kamal Haasan in black linen, flipping hair and flipping fates. But despite all the noise and nostalgia, Thug Life — Mani Ratnam’s much-hyped gangster drama — fizzled out at the box office.

Now, speculation is mounting that the film’s Netflix debut may be fast-tracked, perhaps releasing earlier than the expected eight-week window post its June 5 theatrical release.

That puts the original OTT drop around July 31 — but given the film’s lukewarm reception and disappointing ticket sales, insiders hint that Netflix may release it mid-July instead, hoping to salvage viewership and capitalise on residual curiosity.

In my review, I gave the film two stars and wrote: “Thug Life is a missed opportunity — dressed in bespoke black and armed to the teeth, but shooting blanks where it counts most.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many viewers who found the film all surface, no soul. Sure, Ravi Varman’s cinematography stuns and A.R. Rahman’s background score roars, but the plot, peppered with clunky dialogue like “Madam, I am your only Adam,” unravels quickly.

Even with an all-star cast — Kamal Haasan, Simbu, Trisha, Nasser, Joju George, and Ali Fazal — the film fails to build emotional heft. Characters float through gorgeously stylised frames, but their motivations are frustratingly murky. “Power, greed, ambition, pettiness — all the juicy themes are there, just not explored with any real depth,” I wrote. And that’s the crux: Ratnam’s film wears its gloss like armour, but beneath it lies a narrative full of loopholes and missed beats.

Netflix, having reportedly paid a premium for the streaming rights, is now caught in a dilemma — wait it out, or cash in on whatever buzz remains before audiences move on. Industry trends suggest an earlier OTT release is highly likely for underperformers with big names, especially if the theatrical revenue stream has already dried up. And in a content-saturated world, momentum is everything.

An earlier digital release could, in fact, help Thug Life find a new kind of audience — one that’s more forgiving when expectations are reset and ticket prices aren’t part of the equation. On a lazy evening, some viewers may even enjoy the film for its cinematic bravado and operatic scale, minus the pressure of hoping for a Mani Ratnam classic.

Will an OTT outing redeem Thug Life? That remains to be seen. But if Netflix does drop it ahead of schedule — likely by mid-July — it may offer the film a second life, one less about legacy and more about lingering curiosity.

One thing’s for sure: if you’re logging on for layered storytelling, you might walk away disappointed. But if you’re in it for Kamal Haasan’s brooding don energy, bespoke styling, and bullet ballets in snowy Nepal, then Thug Life might just be worth a stream — even if it leaves you cold, emotionally.