‘Coolie’ Movie Review: Anirudh, Not Rajinikanth, Is Real Lifeline in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Weakest Film to Date! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Coolie Movie Review: Despite having over seven decades of life experience, Rajinikanth remains India’s only superstar of his age who can still pull massive crowds to cinemas. Lokesh Kanagaraj, meanwhile, is arguably the most in-demand director in Tamil cinema today, with Jailer's Nelson close behind. When these two come together, you don’t expect sparks - you expect explosions. Unfortunately, Coolie delivers more smoke than fire. ‘Coolie’ X Review: Rajinikanth’s ‘One-Man Show’ With Nagarjuna’s Stylish Act and Anirudh Ravichander’s BGM Redeems Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Massy Thriller, Say Netizens.

Lokesh’s reputation, bolstered by the success of his cinematic universe, extends well beyond Tamil Nadu. That may explain why not just Rajinikanth, but also stars like Nagarjuna, Upendra, and Aamir Khan, signed up for Coolie. Because if the muddled screenplay is anything to go by, it certainly wasn’t the script that convinced them.

'Coolie' Movie Review -  The Plot

Deva (Rajinikanth) runs a student hostel in Chennai with strict rules, chief among them being no alcohol since he’s a teetotaller. When his long-lost friend Rajashekhar (Sathyaraj) dies under mysterious circumstances, Deva travels to Visakhapatnam to meet his three daughters, led by the resentful Preethi (Shruti Haasan).

Watch the Trailer of 'Coolie':

Suspicious of his friend’s death, Deva starts investigating, which leads him to a dock controlled by kingpin Simon (Nagarjuna) and his right-hand man Dayal (Soubin Shahir), where smuggling of luxury watches is rampant. Now Deva must uncover the truth while protecting Rajashekhar’s daughters.

'Coolie' Movie Review - Mixed Bag of a First Half

There are some mysteries that Lokesh Kanagaraj keeps in the first half that help maintain interest. There’s an unidentified ‘coolie’ in Simon’s racket who is supposed to be an undercover police officer. The reason for Rajashekhar’s death and the identity of his killer form an integral part of the proceedings here, and if that’s not enough, Deva’s secretive past (duh!) also keeps getting mentioned.

With flashy Rajinikanth moments, the first half of Coolie is, I would say, not bad. Which is the best praise I can give if I take a step back and look at the whole picture. Not that the first half is blemish-free — and it sets up problems that worsen in the second half. It’s clear that the scenes don’t always flow well into each other, the jumbled narrative often struggling with the cuts.

The writing feels confusing, and some twists make little to no sense. Even in terms of framing and lighting, Coolie is surprisingly half-baked considering the talents behind the scenes - but it’s the editing that feels like the biggest flaw.

A particular example of how the editing is not up to the mark is the now-famous "Monica" song. It drops out of nowhere when Dayal gets info about an informer, before cutting to a random engagement scene where Dayal sees Monica (Pooja Hegde) - who then leaves her fiancé to dance with the dockworkers. Who is Monica, and why are the oppressed dockworkers dancing with her? Only Thalaivar knows. Or does he?

Fortunately for the film, Coolie regains some interest right after, when it drops a major twist. The events that follow keep the pacing brisk and inject some thrills, though you still have to ignore absurdities — like a man whose head has been hammered viciously behaving as if nothing happened. What’s he made of? Adamantium?

Lokesh and co-writer Chandhru Anbazhagan keep sprinkling twists meant to thrill Rajini fans, but most land flat thanks to a bloated, disjointed narrative.

The silliest bit in the film is Rajashekhar’s invention — an electric chair that can cremate anything instantly. If I met him in real life, I’d have two questions. First, why a chair? Why not a stretcher or a bed? Why would you want a dead body seated on it? Second, as someone points out, did it never occur to you that criminals would use it for nefarious purposes? Which is exactly what happens in the film. Despite being so crucial early on, the chair barely has a role later. This is simply bad writing on display.

'Coolie' Movie Review - Very Disjointed and Overstuffed Second Half

It’s in the second half where Coolie suffers the most. Sure, there’s a mildly interesting thread about a villain keeping Deva under his thumb by threatening Preethi’s life. Yet it’s unclear why Deva is needed for these 'tasks' when anyone else could do the same. It’s also unclear why Simon gives so much respect to Deva - someone he knows will be a pain - without Deva doing anything to earn it.

If you’ve been confused by now, hold your breath - that’s just the appetiser. Lokesh piles on a kidnapping, a love story, a betrayal, Deva’s inevitable reveal that he’s more than he seems, chases, more betrayals, a twist that reminded me of the Malayalam film Kauravar, and, of course, cameos. And yes, the much-talked-about flashback scene with a de-aged Rajinikanth. The cameos and flashbacks feel gimmicky at best, adding unnecessary fat to an already wobbly screenplay.

Characters do things beyond normal comprehension, undermining even dramatic moments. In one scene, Preethi is about to be killed, and the first thing she does is call a landline number. While meant to have dramatic impact, the call was never meant to save her - so why make it? And people in this film act as if mobiles exist only for texting. This is Lokesh trying to add tension, but the result feels contrived. Some characters also appear conveniently in places where they are to run into other characters just so that the plot moves ahead, even if that doesn't make sense.

'Coolie' Movie Review - The Performances and BG Score

There are saving graces. Rajinikanth’s swag and effortless charm rescue several scenes, especially in the ladies’ hostel fight. But even he isn’t always in fine nick - there’s a long monologue in the climax against Simon that starts with such monotony it feels like he’s reading from a screen.

I feel bad for Anirudh, who does his utmost to elevate the film even when it drags itself down. He shines most during Upendra’s cameo - a big highlight in the second half - though the cameo itself feels shoehorned in for star value. His entry is clapworthy, but he barely has anything to do afterwards. ‘Coolie’ Not in LCU: Lokesh Kanagaraj Confirms ‘Standalone’ Status in His Thank You Note for Rajinikanth and the Team – Read Statement.

At the Coolie audio launch, Rajinikanth wondered aloud why Nagarjuna agreed to play a villain. He said it wasn’t for money - the Telugu star has plenty. Now I, too, wonder why he took on a negative role that gives him so little scope to be a badass. It’s the sort of role Sampath has excelled in; Nagarjuna feels underutilised, and even the climactic fight doesn’t give him much menace.

Soubin Shahir, however, gets more room to shine as a villain, bringing great physical energy to his role and more expressions and range than the rest of the cast combined, even if his character's motivations are baffling.

Shruti Haasan fares better than in some of her recent films and gets one strong dramatic scene where Preethi pours her heart out to Deva. But the way the scene is shot robs it of emotional impact. For most of the film, she’s a damsel in distress - a far cry from the fieriness her character showed early on. Rachita Ram’s role has a surprise element, though it lacks the payoff it’s built towards. Aamir Khan’s post-climax appearance is pure gimmickry - his Dahaa is no Rolex, despite the fake evil laugh and random bursts of Tamil. In fact, instead of feeling a figure of fearfulness, we hardly see any sort of intimidation from him.

'Coolie' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

There is this very funny Michael Schrute dialogue in The Office: "Sometimes I'll start a sentence, and I don't even know where it's going. I just hope I find it along the way." Coolie feels just that. It establishes several plot elements but doesn't know how to close around those as it goes on and on, only to end up as a generic revenge thriller. Easily Lokesh's weakest film to date, what we get is a messy, overstuffed actioner weighed down by erratic plotting, gimmicky casting and wasted potential.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2025 10:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).