Thug Life is a disaster in Telugu. It is estimated that Sudhakar Reddy, actor Nithiin's father, lost 80% of his Rs 18 Cr investment in it. It was his banner that released the Mani Ratnam directorial in the Telugu States. His banner's equations with Kamal Haasan have been strong ever since Vikram became a big hit in 2022. (The Thug Life quantum of loss is not final if compensation comes from the makers).
Is the calamitous performance of Thug Life affecting the business potential of Rajinikanth's Coolie in any manner? Absolutely not. As per the word on the street, Coolie's Telugu rights continue to be hot despite the failures of recent Telugu-dubbed Tamil movies like Kanguva, Retro, Indian 2 and Thug Life.
Coolie's USP is Lokesh Kanagaraj, not Rajinikanth. Lokesh's style of cinema has a substantial fan base in the Telugu States. The genre of Coolie also matters.
The buzz is that Coolie's Telugu rights could fetch more than double what Thug Life fetched. In that case, the film will have to become a blockbuster in the Telugu States for it to break even.
