Before Aamir Khan in ‘Coolie’, How Rajinikanth Keeps Casting Bollywood Stars in His Tamil Movies From Amitabh Bachchan to Aishwarya Rai

Rajinikanth is teaming up with Aamir Khan after three decades in Coolie, a Tamil action entertainer directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. While Rajinikanth leads the cast, Aamir will make a cameo appearance in the film’s climax. The duo last worked together in the 1995 gangster drama Aatank Hi Aatank, an unofficial Godfather remake in which Rajinikanth played the Sonny Corleone-inspired role opposite Aamir’s Michael Corleone counterpart. Did Rajinikanth Say ‘Aamir Khan Stands Tall Among Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan’? Find Out What Happened at ‘Coolie Unleashed’ Event! (Watch Video).

Aamir’s presence is expected to give Coolie an extra push in North India. Despite Tamil cinema’s global recognition, it hasn’t matched the recent pan-India success of Telugu films like Baahubali, RRR, and Pushpa, or Kannada cinema’s KGF series. Could Coolie be the game-changer?

Bollywood Casting: Rajinikanth’s Tried-and-Tested Strategy

Over the years, Rajinikanth’s Tamil films have often cast Bollywood actors in pivotal roles, ensuring visibility in the North Indian market. Whenever possible, the superstar has brought in big Hindi names - from Amitabh Bachchan to Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. ‘Vettaiyan’ Movie Review: A Rajinikanth Spectacle With Intermittent Sparks That’s Weighed Down by a Feeble Screenplay.

In fact, since the 2000s, almost every Rajinikanth film has featured at least one Hindi actor, with only three exceptions such as Shankar’s Sivaji: The Boss, P Vasu’s Kuselan, and Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s Lal Salaam - the last two featuring Rajinikanth in extended cameos. For the matter, Lal Salaam featured a cameo by former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev.

Bollywood Actors in Rajinikanth Films Since 2000

Baba (2002)

The spiritual entertainer marked Rajinikanth’s comeback after the blockbuster Padayappa. Manisha Koirala played the female lead, Amrish Puri had a cameo, and notable Hindi actors included Sayaji Shinde and Ashish Vidyarthi.

Chandramukhi (2005)

In this remake of the Malayalam classic Manichitrathazhu, Sonu Sood played the bodyguard of the household’s matriarch and faced off with Rajinikanth in a fight sequence.

Enthiran (2010)

Originally planned with Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta, the sci-fi spectacle eventually starred Rajinikanth in a double role opposite Aishwarya Rai. Danny Denzongpa played the villainous scientist.

Kochadaiiyaan (2014)

Soundarya Rajinikanth's ambitious animated motion-capture film fell short by miles for its poor quality of VFX. It did have a stacked cast led by Rajinikanth, where Deepika Padukone played the female lead. Jackie Shroff also had an important role in the movie. BTW, the lady in the above still is supposed to be Deepika!

Lingaa (2014)

In this dual time-frame entertainer, Rajinikanth had a double role, where one of them was paired with Sonakshi Sinha. The movie didn't work at the box office.

Kabali (2016)

After another brief hiatus, Rajinikanth returned with a bang with Pa Ranjith's gangster drama. Radhika Apte played his wife in the blockbuster.

Kaala (2018)

Reuniting Rajinikanth and Pa Ranjith, this gangster drama is based in Mumbai in the slums of Dharavi and thereby had some notable Bollywood actors in the cast. Huma Qureshi played the ex-flame of Rajinikanth's slumlord character while Nana Patekar played the powerful antagonist. Pankaj Tripathi, Sayaji Shinde, Ravi Kale, and Anjali Patil were also part of the cast.

2.0 (2018)

The bigger-budgeted, more ambitious sequel to Enthiran features Akshay Kumar as a supernatural antagonist who controls birds and harbours a hatred for mobile phones. Sudhanshu Pandey plays the son of Danny Denzongpa’s character from the first film, while Adil Hussain takes on the role of the Home Minister.

Petta (2019)

Karthik Subbaraj’s masala entertainer boasts a star-studded cast, including Nawazuddin Siddiqui as one of the antagonists - a violent gangster who is also the father of Vijay Sethupathi’s character.

Darbar (2020)

This cop action thriller, directed by AR Murugadoss, is set in Mumbai and centres on the rivalry between Rajinikanth’s vengeful police commissioner and Suniel Shetty’s mafia boss. The film also features notable Bollywood actors such as Prateik Babbar, Nawab Shah, and Jatin Sarna.

Annaatthe (2021)

Directed by Siva, this social action drama features Abhimanyu Singh as one of the antagonists.

Jailer (2023)

Much like Coolie, Nelson’s Jailer includes popular stars from other industries, such as Mohanlal (Kerala) and Shivarajkumar (Karnataka). Representing Bollywood is Jackie Shroff, with Makarand Deshpande also making an appearance. There is also Tamannaah Bhatia who may have earned her popularity working in Tamil and Telugu cinema, but is also making her presence felt in Hindi Cinema. Jailer Movie Review: Rajinikanth is Effortlessly Enigmatic in Nelson's Superstar Vehicle Done Nearly Right.

Vettaiyan (2024)

Amitabh Bachchan reunites with Rajinikanth after decades in this TJ Gnanavel directorial, marking the Bollywood legend’s debut in Tamil cinema. Amitabh Bachchan was also Rajinikanth's co-star in latter's Hindi debut - Andha Kanoon (1983). Their last film together before Vettaiyan was the 1991 blockbuster Hum.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 12, 2025 08:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).