Coolie movie review: Rajinikanth elevates Lokesh Kanagaraj's frustrating action vehicle

Indian Express

3 days ago

Coolie Movie Review & Rating: 'He is always ahead of of us, sir, ' proclaims a breathless Dayal (Soubin Shahir) to his boss Simone (Nagarjuna) in one of the busiest scenes in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie. This problem, specifically the character Deva (Rajinikanth) consistently outpacing every other character in Coolie, is the same issue that plagues the screenplay's laboriously meandering construction. Coolie, undoubtedly one of the most anticipated Indian releases of the year, is out, and in between all the pre-release hype, advance sales figures, and sky-high expectations, it is barely a Lokesh Kanagaraj film, and one that is happy being a pale imitation of his earlier works
Coolie starts with the trademark Lokesh 'intercut' style, and we are given a sampling of the crime world. A police informer delivers critical exposition to catch us up on the details of the smuggling syndicate that is the focus of the story. But, from the get-go, there is this sinking feeling of the gaping holes in the writing, which is holding too much back and appears scared to be cohesive. The characters get introduced, murders happen on screen, and we all catch up with the internal rules set by the characters for survival.
The film approaches Rajinikanth's star persona with an old-school reverence and at the same time with a slight tongue-in-cheek irreverence. For instance, we get the usual setup for the 'introduction song', a staple of classic Rajini films from the past. But then Lokesh decides to give the intro an 'intentionally flippy and low-key vibe in a setting one least expects to see Rajinikanth. But then again, this is a 'certified crime gritty gangster drama, done in the trademark 'Lokesh' style. We get a hostel owner who has strong convictions about alcohol use, and that stretch is eerily familiar to the latter half of Master for the way alcohol is integrated into the protagonist's persona.
Deva is slacking off with his hostel tenants, when one day he is suddenly out of the blue and is informed of the passing of his long-lost friend Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj). Deva visits the funeral in an emotional haze, but is asked to leave by Rajasekhar's elder daughter, who seems to be very angry at a man she has never seen in her life. The tension is palpable, and we get a worried Deva sticking around to ensure the safety of his old friend's three daughters from an unknown enemy. None of this makes any immediate sense, and the film keeps us guessing.
It takes off from this basic setup and goes on to become a convoluted array of sequences, where the makers are banking on he flashback to drive the intrigue. Coolie is as much a Rajinikanth film as it is a showcase of the much-celebrated young director's weakest impulses as an image maker.. Scenes go on for too long, and following scenes start with little to no connective tissue. It's a 'free for all' in cinematic formalism, and you sense Lokesh straining to hold onto any semblance of linearity. The delayed information delivery strategy comes crashing down when all the disparate strands are thrown at the viewer in quick succession with little to no cohesion.
Coolie has interesting ideas like any Lokesh Kanagaraj film, and you get charming supporting performances, especially Nagarjuna and Soubin Shahir, who get the most screen time after Rajnikanth. These two revel in the sinister actions of the characters, but they play mere archetypal villains, who get to slash people endlessly on screen and look cool doing it. The film tries to co-opt the successful 'bread crumbs' narrative of Vikram, Lokesh's best work to date, which follows the death of the character and the ensuing chaos set forth by the slow unraveling of what is really going on under all the lies and hidden truths. Coolie misses the emotional grounding and levity provided by Fahad Faasil in Vikram. Instead, Lokesh unevenly tries to build up similar scenes of suspense and light-hearted banter with middling results.
In Vikram, we are invested in the characters of Kamal Haasan, whose death leads to a hailstorm of misinformation and intentionally manipulated backstory. That friction between the real backstory and the manufactured one propels Vikram forward and makes the interval reveal work. Coolie is much more of a straight shooter when it comes to its structure and relies on the emotional intensity of a central revelation, like Lokesh's sophomore outing, 'Kaithi'.
Watch Coolie Movie Trailer Here:
Anirudh is in top form here, and his score is a welcome respite in between all the conflicting tonal hijinx. The composer goes all out and infuses a classical folk motif for the character played by Upendra into the score that sounds different from the wall-to-wall EDM-inspired soundscape of the rest of the film. Rajinikanth is on board with the emotionality of the character and makes the most of the silent moments to land the emotional heft of the narrative. Shruti Haasan is put through the wringer in this film, and she has to endure a lot of physical and psychological torment, and is tasked with grounding the emotionality of the film and she does her best in that regard. Soubin Shahir and Nagarjuna lend a lot of credibility to the weakly conceived nemesis, a facet of their performance styles as opposed to the writing.
Gireesh Gangadharan captures the chilling dissonance between the overlit action sequences and the low-key character moments with great consistency. The action sequences, especially the one featuring Upendra and Rajnikanth in the 'Mansion' set piece, feel more in vain with Lokesh's aesthetic sensibility, and the rest feel monotonous and basic in their inclusion. There is also the classic trope of the old song reference, this time fittingly from a lesser-known Rajinikanth classic from the 70's that felt well placed. Aamir Khan makes his entry towards the end with a spirited cameo that does bring some genuine laughs, but the desired impact is not achieved. The only time Lokesh cuts to visuals from the much hyped flashback sequences from the film, and those two are the best two sequences in the movie. The desired viscerality comes through, and they do a good job de-aging Rajinikanth for that stretch. One could only wish that the rest of the film measured up to the thrills of those two sequences.
Coolie Movie Cast: Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Aamir Khan, Upendra, Sathyaraj, Shruthi Haasan, Soubin Shahir
Coolie Movie Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Coolie Movie Rating: 2.5 stars