Exclusive | Unseen 'Coolie' Stills From The Sets of Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj Actioner
One of the most anticipated collaborations in modern Tamil cinema, 'Coolie' will hit theatres on August 14
It’s that time of the year. Come August 14, and Rajinikanth fever is about to grip theatres, this time in the form of Coolie, a firecracker collaboration with Lokesh Kanagaraj. As excitement builds, all eyes are on the trailer cut of the promising action thriller, set to drop on August 2.
With Thalaivar—in all his grizzled, swaggering glory—on our cover this edition, THR India has received exclusive stills from the sets of Coolie. One of the most anticipated collaborations in modern Tamil cinema, the film has had a long and epic journey to fruition, one to rival its larger-than-life narrative. The project had been in development since 2019, and, after several detours, was officially announced in 2023.
Coolie promises to be a witty action thriller with a strong emotional pulse. In the film, Rajinikanth plays Deva, a former gold smuggler reassembling his old gang. Vintage gold watches (a prominent motif in the posters) will play a central role in the story. As befits its ‘getting-back-the-old-crew' plotline, Coolie features a stacked ensemble, including Nagarjuna, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan and Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in a cameo appearance. There’s also buzz that Kamal Haasan, star of Lokesh’s Vikram, may lend his voice to the director’s new film. Anirudh Ravichander has composed the music of Coolie.
In an exclusive interview with THR India, Lokesh spoke about the grand production of Coolie, revealing that 700 to 1000 cast and crew members worked on the sets daily. Produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures, Coolie was filmed across multiple locations in Hyderabad, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Bangkok.
“It is a film of that size, as the film is about the union, the harbour and labourers. Everybody has respect for Rajini sir. We were always on set before time. It has been four months since the shoot, but we miss him. Whenever I get the time, I go and meet him on the set of Jailer 2 (Nelson's sequel with the actor),” Lokesh had shared.
In another interview, he revealed that Rajinikanth, now 74, would spend two hours every day penning his biography while filming for Coolie, a touching detail.