No release of Kamal Haasan's Thug Life in Karnataka, despite the relief from Supreme Court

Thug Life

Kamal Haasan's Thug Life has got a clearance on release of its film in Karnataka from the Supreme Court. Despite that, the movie is not going to release in the state.

According to VR Films, which is the distributor of Thug Life in Karnataka, has backed out and told News 18 'it is not feasible for them to release the movie now in Karnataka.'

Distributor Venkatesh Kamalakar's comments came a day after the Supreme Court allowed the release of the Mani Ratnam directed film, which faced opposition in the state following Kamal Haasan's controversial statement on the Kannada language.

The distributor further said that '2-3 films are releasing tomorrow and we wont have enough screens.'

The distributor said Haasan’s ‘Vikram’ did well in Karnataka, but he does not have a fan base here that will blindly go to his film, no matter what.
“When it comes to his films, the success depends on how good it is. ‘Thug Life’ is generally considered as not a good film by many. So, it is too risky,” said Kamalakar, who distributes mostly big budget Tamil films in Karnataka.

The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 19) asked the Karnataka government to take action against those obstructing the screening of Kamal Haasan starrer "Thug Life" in the state.

Also Read - Thug Life Movie Review: The Mani Ratnam–Kamal Haasan combo returns after decades, minus the magic

A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan recorded the state government's assurance that it would provide adequate security to the theaters if the movie was screened in the state.
The bench said it did not want a situation to crop up in which someone’s sentiment was hurt by utterances and the movie was stalled from releasing, or a standup show was cancelled or an artist was stopped from reciting a poem.

As a result, the bench asked the state government to contain any "divisive element" posing as a threat to the film's release.

The top court closed the PIL after the state government's assurance, observing no guidelines or directions were required to be given.

On June 17, the top court came down heavily on the Karnataka government after the actor's movie" was not screened in theatres in the state, and observed that mob and vigilantes cannot be allowed to take over streets.

The top court was hearing a plea of one M Mahesh Reddy, who challenged the film's non screening in Karnataka.  (With PTI Inputs)