Seventy-year-old Tamil star Kamal Haasan is facing flak on social media for being part of intimate scenes with actresses Trisha Krishnan and Abhirami — both in their early 40s — in the trailer of the upcoming film Thug Life dropped on Saturday.
“Not in a million years would I have predicted that Trisha subplot. I was thinking either sister or daughter or sister-in-law,” wrote a Reddit user. “Trisha is just 3 years older than Shruthi Hassan (Haasan’s daughter) btw,” commented another social media user on Reddit.
While Trisha is 42, Abhirami is 41 years old — both are about 30 years younger than Haasan.
Some users even defended the creative choice, arguing that the age gap is acceptable if the story acknowledges it.
“Showing intimacy between characters who belong to different generations isn’t the problem. Pretending the age gap doesn’t exist and trying to cater to the mass hero image by romancing an actress your daughter’s age who is only here to play a bimbo shows laziness, unwillingness to put in effort and reinforces many stereotypes,” reads one comment on Reddit.
Some Reddit users said that the age gap is justified if the plot demands it. “The movie's arc itself is the affair between a younger woman and an older man, so with Trisha- it's not the typical romance that's to be celebrated so it's fine as far as this movie is considered. But with Abhirami, yeah.. it's uncomfortable to watch,” wrote a Reddit user.
“The thing is a man in his 50s romancing a 20-year-old is very different from a man in his 70s romancing a 40-year-old. While age gap exists, the woman is an actual, grown adult with experience and power in the industry. So the power dynamics aren't that s*****,” posted another user.
Backed by Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International and Ratnam’s Madras Talkies, Thug Life is set to release in theatres on June 5. Red Giant Movies will handle the distribution.
The three-minute trailer stars Kamal Haasan as a gangster who takes a young boy under his wing and raises him in the underworld. As the years pass, the boy grows into a formidable figure, played by Silambarasan TR. However, cracks begin to appear in their bond as ambition, power and betrayal rear their heads.
The trailer features Haasan in intimate sequences with Trisha and Abhirami, including a kissing scene with the latter.
“They both looked apt for the role they play. Trisha looks like she is early 30s and Abhirami looks she is in her 40s or 50s. And Kamal looks like he is in the 60s, as I said if they look apt on screen they real life age doesn't matter,” wrote another netizen, defending the makers.
Mani Ratnam’s regular collaborator A.R. Rahman has composed the music for Thug Life, with Ravi K Chandran behind the camera and Sreekar Prasad handling editing. The cast also includes Ashok Selvan, Sanya Malhotra, Nasser, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Joju George. The action choreography is by the acclaimed Anbariv duo.
