The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Ronit Roy and Lloyd Owen.

When Azaad and his men make a stop to pick up muskets from a local ruler who supports their cause, Firangi betrays them and lets the East India Company know about their location.

The thugs survive and then Firangi and Zafira go to Suraiyya who is going to perform on the Dussehra function and asks for her help where Clive will also come so they can kill him there.

However, this is a plan to release all the prisoner thugs including Azaad who survived but was captured by East India Company soldiers.

At the final encounter with the East India Company at an abandoned fort, Zafira fights the EIC soldiers while Firangi stops Clive from boarding his ship.

Azaad looks to the sky and realizes the infertile land has now borne fruit, suggesting that Firangi has now become an empathetic human capable of greatness.

In September 2016, Yash Raj Films' next project titled Thugs of Hindostan was announced, and would feature Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

[19] Later, in November 2016, Khan also requested that the script be reworked, particularly the character of the leading actress, and put the project on hold.

[28] Besides Roshan, Jackie Shroff, Alia Bhatt, and Deepika Padukone were to be a part of the film, but turned down the role.

[28] Thugs of Hindostan's estimated production budget is ₹3 billion (US$43.87 million), making it the most expensive Bollywood film.

[31] Two ships were constructed in Malta for the purpose of filming; shooting was heavily guarded to prevent leaks from sets.

[46] When filming was not taking place, the cast, along with the crew, wore face masks to avoid contracting the common cold.

These changes are partly in response to Chinese audience expectations, to capitalise on Khan's popularity in China, and to reduce elements from the film that were not well received in India.

[64][65] The China edition cut a number of slow-motion scenes, but still kept most of the song-and-dance sequences to maintain a festive atmosphere for Christmas.

[67] Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy were originally supposed to compose the soundtrack, but were unable to complete their work before the new deadline after the film was reshot, and new tracks were demanded.

[82] Chinese distribution company E Star Films initially agreed to acquire the theatrical rights,[83] with a minimum guarantee of $20 million (₹145 crore) from China.

He toured eight major cities, including Sanya, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai, and Beijing.

[107] Thugs of Hindostan also became India's fourth highest opening weekend grosser of all time, after Sultan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Baahubali 2.

[109] The box-office takings, however, dropped significantly after receiving bad reviews, and the film made only ₹145 crore in India after 11 days.

It resulted in significant losses for theatre owners, who demanded refunds from the sub-distributor of Yash Raj Films.

[120] Rachit Gupta of The Times of India gave the film two and a half stars out of five and shares the sentiments of most reviewers: "[It] looks like a million bucks, [but] it doesn't feel the same way".

He praised the production design and cinematography, but criticised the lack of suspense and "the predictable nature of the writing... [which] doesn't help the movie at all".

[69] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film two and a half stars out of five and called it "big, bloated, [and] bombastic", asserting that it "banks solely upon action and spectacle for impact".

"[122] In a positive review, Rohini Nair of Firstpost appreciated the use of metaphorical allegories in the film and praised Bachchan and Khan's chemistry.

He argues that "Thugs of Hindostan thus brings the peripheral, the lumpen proletariat and other degraded groups centre-stage in building the foundations of the new nation.

He felt several good moments in the first half of the film, were hindered by the "formula-ridden plot, screenplay of convenience, and shoddy direction".

[127] Shubra Gupta of The Indian Express termed the "a massive cherry-picking enterprise from big entertainers of the past, many of them YRF's own", and referred to it as "a boring affair".

[129] Rahul Desai of Film Companion sums up the retort: "[It is] the Bollywood manifestation of Halloween – an amusing, self-gratifying but altogether pointless fancy-dress ball designed to trick audiences under the guise of treating them".

[130] Among overseas critics, Joe Leydon of Variety gave it a generally positive review, stating the "expensive and exuberant Bollywood masala delivers the goods as a satisfying popcorn epic.

[citation needed] The film has recovered approximately ₹170 crore ($22.94 million) from satellite, digital and music rights.