Anirudh Ravichander: I Hope That 'Coolie 2' Will Happen

At an event organised by Spotify in Mumbai celebrating the Hindi album launch of Coolie, composer Anirudh Ravichander said that he hoped the film does well, so that there could be a sequel to the actioner.

“I hope there’s a Coolie 2. The past one and a half years that we have worked on this film have been so magical, especially the positive vibes from everyone on set,  including the legends. We finished the final mix just last evening, and when Lokesh and I took a picture and posted it, we both felt quite emotional. As a fan, I can’t wait to watch the first day first show of Coolie. I know we can’t get this time back again.. but I also really hope the film does great and we reunite for Coolie 2.”

With filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj already stating that he’d love to make sequels to Vikram, Leo and Master as well, Coolie 2 could take a backseat in the near future — but Anirudh’s statement does indicate that the film’s ending might have a twist or two to set up future iterations of the storyline with Rajinikanth reprising his role as Deva. 

“We haven’t slept in a while, but every minute has been so enjoyable and the adrenaline has kept us going. As a composer, I always want to work with legends, and the sheer aura that Nag sir brought to the screen blew us all away,” Anirudh added, thanking Telugu legend Nagarjuna who was also present at the event. 

Nagarjuna, on his part, said he had been waiting to work with Anirudh for a long time and revealed that he was pleased as punch that the composer put together a special track for him: I Am The Danger.

“There’s no rhyme or reason why he (Simon) is bad. He is just one of those characters who does exactly what he wants to, without any inhibitions. I had a great time on set, and I had Ani backing me up with his fantastic score,” said the star.

Nagarjuna added that he enjoyed working with Rajinikanth a lot and that the “charisma and aura” which the Superstar created on set was outstanding. “Rajini helped me a lot with the Tamil dialogues, he kept going, ‘Nag, it’ll be nice to do it like this.. or try it that way instead.’ I had the most negative role ever,  but my experience was super positive!”

Shruti Haasan, who was also present, said that the Coolie sets brimmed with energy as the cast kept growing. “Apart from Rajinikanth and Nag sir, once Soubin Shahir, Aamir Khan, Upendra sir and several of the others joined us, it was such an amazing set to be on; everyone was diligently working on their parts.”

Addressing her role in the film, she said that it wasn’t just her character of Preethi who would bring in the “feminine quotient” in Coolie. “You’ll have to watch the film to understand. But I loved playing her, and do feel that a lot of people will really relate to her. And the dialogue where Rajinikanth sir says, ‘He might be your father, but to me… he is my friend’ — it’s in the trailer also — is one of my all-time favourites!”

Speaking about the trailer, Anirudh said that Lokesh enjoyed the “gibberish lyrics” in the Mobsta (Alela Polema) song that plays in the background a lot. “I actually just hummed some random gibberish for the tune, but he loved it. Incidentally, Alela Polema apparently means ‘I am ready to fight!’ in Greek. Who would have known…”

But he refuses to reveal the identity of Heisenberg who has penned the lyrics for a couple of songs in the album, even though many speculate that it could be Anirudh himself. “He is very talented, and all the songs that he’s worked on for us have been hits, so his identity will be a secret that Lokesh and I will take to the grave!”