Thug Life: How Much Money Will Distributor Lose If Kamal Haasan's Film Is Banned In Karnataka?

Updated: Monday, August 25, 2025, 13:38 [IST]

The Karnataka distribution rights of the upcoming Tamil movie Thug Life were sold for a big amount and if the movie fails to release, the distributor will suffer huge losses.

How Much Did Distributor Pay For Karnataka Rights?

As per the sources, Venkatesh Kamalakar had acquired the distribution rights of Thug Life by paying Rs 8 crore advance with the hopes of minting huge profit. "As the movie is being released in multiple languages, including Kannada, the movie was expected to strike gold at the box office.

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Venkatesh Kamalakar acquired the Karnataka distribution rights for the Tamil film "Thug Life" for Rs 8 crore, but the film's release faces uncertainty due to Kamal Haasan's remarks about Kannada, prompting calls for an apology and potential bans from the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and the Minister for Kannada and Culture. The film, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Kamal Haasan, Trisha Krishnan, and others, is scheduled for June 5 release.

Thug Life How Much Money Will Distributor Lose If Kamal Haasan s Film Is Banned In Karnataka

Unfortunately, Thug Life has landed in a controversy after Kamal Haasan claimed in a recent event that "Kannada was born out of Tamil," a leading distributor told Oneindia on the condition of anonymity.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has demanded Kamal Haasan give an apology, failing which they will ban the movie in the state. However, the actor, so far, has refused to offer an apology and claimed that he made those remarks out of "love".

Even Karnataka's Minister for Kannada and Culture, Shivaraj S Tangadagi has directed the film chamber not to release the movie unless the Tamil actor gives an apology.

Karnataka Acting Tough

"When it comes to our language, land, and water, we will not tolerate anyone speaking against them, no matter how big the person is, even if it is Kamal Haasan," the minister said in a letter to the KFCC.

Hence, the fate of the movie hangs in the balance even as distributor Venkatesh Kamalakar is trying to convince the actor to issue an apology for a trouble-free release.

Mani Ratnam's previous film PS2 had made a net collection of Rs 22+ crore in Karnataka. Considering Kamal's popularity, his latest film was expected to do well in the state.

Responding to a question at a press meet, he said, "They [politicians] do not have education enough to talk about it. That includes me. Let's leave all these in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists and language experts."

Thug Life, which is produced by directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam, is scheduled for release on June 5. Trisha Krishnan, Silambarasan aka Simbu, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, Jojo George and others are part of the cast.