Chennai: 

Directed by Mani Ratnam, Thug Life stars Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR, Trisha, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, and Joju George. With release plans set for more than 3,500 theatres globally, the film is expected to be a major box-office draw. As part of the final promotional push, the cast and crew have been actively involved in publicity events across the country.

As Kamal Haasan's upcoming film Thug Life gears up for a grand worldwide release tomorrow (June 5), the Madras High Court has issued an order to protect the film from piracy. The court has banned the illegal release and streaming of the film on 793 websites, following a plea filed by the film's production house, Raaj Kamal Films International.

Amidst the buzz, Raaj Kamal Films International approached the Madras High Court seeking a ban on the illegal distribution of the film through various online platforms. The case was heard today by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy.

Advocate Vijayan Subramanian, appearing on behalf of Raaj Kamal Films, urged the court to intervene immediately. "The movie Thug Life is going to be released in more than 3,500 theatres. So, illegal release of this movie on websites and cable TV should be banned," he stated. He further said, "Since this movie is being made with a huge budget and is about to be released, if it is released illegally on websites, the movie production company will suffer huge financial losses."

Meanwhile, the film has been embroiled in controversy in Karnataka after comments made by Kamal Haasan during the Thug Life audio launch event. The actor's remarks about the Kannada language received backlash from Kannada organisations, which demanded an apology while threatening to prevent the film from being screened in Karnataka if their demands were not met.

Taking the argument into consideration, Justice Ramamoorthy issued an order banning the unauthorised release and streaming of the film on websites and cable television networks. The order extends to internet service providers, including BSNL, and aims to curb piracy that could potentially result in significant financial damage to the producers.

In response, Raaj Kamal Films International filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court. During the hearing, the court questioned Haasan's qualifications on the matter, saying "Are you a linguist or are you a historian when you are talking about language? Or what evidence do you have to say that Kannada was born from Tamil?" The court went on to say that public statements should not hurt the sentiments of any community.

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