Thug Life: Kamal Haasan, Trisha’s stage exchange gone wrong

Thug Life: Kamal Haasan, Trisha’s stage exchange gone wrong

A video clip of actors Kamal Haasan and Trisha from the promotions of their upcoming movie Thug Life, has created a controversy on social media. While many believe that a “double meaning joke” was made by star actor Kamal Haasan on stage, fans note he was simply using the wit from his Vasool Raja MBBS (2004) movie dialogue, penned by the late Crazy Mohan.  

In Vasool Raja MBBS, Kamal Haasan’s character mocking someone’s way of speaking says, they if they wanted a name that fits their mouth, then they should name it as ‘banana’. “Vaayla nozhaira maadhiri oru peru vai, vaalaipazham nu vai”, is the dialogue exchange with a play on similar sounding Tamil words, that takes place in Vasool Raja MBBS, and the comedy line is a clever way of calling out the irony in trying to make something sound ‘easy to pronounce’.

During the recent Thug Life promotions, Trisha whose lineage is as much Palakkad in Kerala, as Tamil Nadu, struggled with the name of a famous Kerala snack called the ‘Pazham pori’. When fellow Thug Life actor Ashok Selvan helped her with the name, she accidentally called it the ‘boiled banana’ whereas a ‘Pazham pori’ is a fried banana fritter.

It was here that Kamal Haasan interjected and stated, “(She) doesn’t know how to say the name, but ‘vaayla nozhajurum’ (it will enter the mouth)”. One set of Kamal Haasan fans swear that the actor was quoting the famous Vasool Raja MBBS dialogue, as he has done multiple times before this instance, another set defends the actor claiming that in colloquial Tamil language, the statement isn’t intended to come across with sleazy undertones. 

Thug Life releases in theaters on June 5, 2025.