Thug Life starring Kamal Haasan in the lead is an upcoming Mani Ratnam directorial that was announced as a joint production under Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International (RKFI), Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies and Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies.  The film was initially supposed to star Dulquer Salmaan and Jayam Ravi as part of the cast, but the both the actors dropped out citing delay in Thug Life shooting. 

While Jayam Ravi's dates went unutilized in January, February and March, 2024, the actor moved on to focus on his other upcoming projects like Genie and Thani Oruvan 2. Team Thug Life is currently in talks with actors like Nivin Pauly and Arvind Swami to replace Jayam Ravi.

Dulquer Salmaan on the other hand is getting replaced by actor Silambarasan TR in Thug Life. Silambarasan TR was supposed to begin STR 48 under RKFI with director Desingh Periyasamy. Seemingly STR 48's shooting has been pushed, and Silambarasan TR will instead begin shooting for Thug Life from April, 2024. Silambarasan TR is said to play a collector in Thug Life. 

Mani Ratnam is said to have so far completed Trisha's shooting portions in Thug Life. Kamal Haasan was previously expected to resume Thug Life post Lok Sabha elections i.e. past June, 2024.