Despite getting a go-ahead from the Supreme Court, the distributor of actor Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life in Karnataka believes there is no point to a belated release.

The film premiered across India two weeks ago, but controversy around the actor’s remarks on Kannada resulted in a stay on its release in the state.

A day after the apex court’s decision, distributor Venkatesh Kamalakar noted, “It is not a good business decision to release the film now. [Kamal’s] previous films Indian 2 (2024) and Vikram (2022) also did not do well here.”

Venkatesh, who primarily distributes big-budget Tamil films in Karnataka, added, “When it comes to his films, the success depends on how good it is. Thug Life has generally not been considered a good film, so it’s too risky.”

According to industry sources, the distributor had already paid the production house Rs. 9 crore as an advance for distribution rights. Venkatesh said the banner had promised to return the money. However, he said he isn’t anticipating any difficulty in getting the refund.

He asked, “It is not like it is our fault. Things turned out the way they did, and when there is no profit, which theatre owner will agree to showcase the film?”