Kamal Haasan interview: On ‘Thug Life’, AI in cinema and his unrealised projects

Kamal Haasan talks about his journey with director Mani Ratnam in ‘Thug Life’ and his recent learnings from AI studies.

In October 2024, during the promotional activities of Sivakarthikeyan-Sai Pallavi-starrer Amaran at Chennai’s Raajkamal Films International (RKFI) office, the person missing from the thick of things was none other than the film’s producer: Kamal Haasan.

“Avar US ku padikka poitaar (He has gone to the US to study),” said someone at his office, referring to the actor’s decision to take off to the United States of America to study artificial intelligence.

At 70, with multiple awards and films in several languages to his credit, Kamal Haasan might be widely regarded as one of the best actors in the country. He, however, still considers himself a “student”, which prompted his decision to set aside time to study artificial intelligence, curious about its use in his field of work.

“We are all part luddites. That’s our problem,” says the actor, “That’s why I have the naivety to say that I want to learn AI. They kept asking me what exactly I want to learn – which is when I realised there are so many verticals in the film industry itself.”

Kamal vouches to keep learning more – which, he hopes, will help him streamline his current film assignments and probably aid in executing his dream projects. “We are still not good with scheduling and budgeting. We are not good with compartmentalising and delegating. AI will take away the chore in the job and the thinking person inside you has a better chance,” he says.

In the US, Kamal Haasan visited the Perplexity AI headquarters, interacting extensively with its CEO, Aravind Srinivas. He also attended NAB 2025 in Las Vegas, which showcased how AI technologies could enhance storytelling and streamline production processes. “I have never studied in a classroom, so my study continues,” he tells us.

It did – on the sets of his upcoming film, Thug Life, as well. The film marks the coming together of Kamal Haasan and ace director Mani Ratnam after three decades; their last outing was Nayakan (1987), one of Tamil cinema’s biggest classics. “Both of us have evolved since then,” he says, “He (Mani Ratnam) changed the landscape of Tamil cinema, which influenced filmmaking across India. I believe that the more ethnic you become, the more international you become – this is a quote that Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (director-screenwriter) is quite fond of, and I picked it up from him.”