Balancing Rajinikanth's stardom and story: Coolie director Lokesh Kanagaraj's big test

India Today

4 days ago

In Tamil cinema, very few collaborations have generated as much intrigue as Rajinikanth's 'Coolie'. This isn't just another big-ticket release. It marks the Superstar's 50th year in films and pairs him with Lokesh Kanagaraj, the filmmaker who reshaped the action genre for this era. Add an ensemble featuring Nagarjuna, Sathyaraj, Aamir Khan, Upendra, Soubin Shahir and Shruti Haasan, and on paper, it reads like a guaranteed blockbuster.advertisementBut history has shown that a stellar cast alone doesn't make a great film. The trailer has lit up social media, and the chatter is already about whether it can outshine 'War 2' at the box office or become the first Kollywood film to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark. But there are far more important questions surrounding this film - the biggest one looming is whether Lokesh can weave his trademark morally grey worlds, layered gangsters, and taut, gritty storytelling into a Rajinikanth spectacle without losing the essence of the star's larger-than-life mass appeal.
The balancing act: Stars and SubstanceOne of the biggest pitfalls of pan-India and multi-starrer films is the underutilisation of stars. We've seen this happen across industries: Fahadh Faasil in 'Pushpa' films, Bobby Deol in several post-'Animal' roles, Sanjay Dutt after 'KGF', and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in 'Petta', among other examples.
On the flip side, there are films where every performance, some even brief appearances, landed hard. Starting from Jr NTR and Ram Charan in 'RRR', Rana Daggubati in 'Baahubali' to Shiva Rajkumar and Mohanlal in 'Jailer' and Prithviraj in 'Salaar', there are many such impactful roles.Lokesh himself has managed this balance before: Vijay Sethupathi in 'Master', Suriya and Fahadh Faasil in 'Vikram'. They weren't there as part of the cast just for star power or box office pull; they were integrated into the narrative organically.With 'Coolie', the stakes are higher. This is not just about stars, this is about stars who are also strong actors, and whose fanbases expect both heroism and meat in their roles. Nagarjuna playing an antagonist is a bold move, given his decades of image-building as a family hero. Upendra, Aamir Khan, and the rest of the cast each bring specific audience baggage. Lokesh's challenge isn't simply to give them screen time, it's to make them fit organically into his grey, gritty worlds without diluting either the story or the fan service moments.A sci-fi twist in the shadows?advertisementThe 'Coolie' trailer hints at something beyond the typical gangster drama. We see Sathyaraj's character working on a strange contraption, a miniature special chair, experiments in an empty swimming pool, Shruti Haasan moving bodies, and most intriguingly, multiple glimpses of what looks like a Tesla coil.In cinema, Tesla coils often signal high-voltage experiments, time travel, or other sci-fi concepts. Could 'Coolie' be fusing sci-fi into a gangster drama? It's an audacious move. Tamil cinema has dabbled with such blends before. 'Mark Antony' mixed time travel with gangsters, 'Maanaadu' built a political thriller on a time-loop premise. 'While Mark Antony' leaned heavily on comedy and entertainment, 'Maanaadu' was a political drama and thriller. 'Coolie' promises to be more serious, more intense, and that makes the risk greater.Lokesh has the craft for it. His handling of Amar's investigation in 'Vikram' shows he can layer intrigue into mass cinema and do justice to the story and stardom. But merging a dark gangster tone with sci-fi needs precision. If it works, it could be a game-changer. If not, it risks feeling disjointed.advertisementThe Rajinikanth factor'Coolie's' trailer has drawn mixed reactions, with some fans welcoming its grounded tone, while others lament the absence of the trademark 'Rajini punch'. That's the eternal dilemma with big stars: many audience members, especially fans, more often than not arrive with a checklist. Kamal Haasan's films are expected to deliver layered characters and technical finesse; Rajinikanth films, style, swagger, and those electric 'mass' moments.Lokesh has walked this line before. In 'Vikram', Kamal was barely present in the first half, yet the story carried the weight, not just the star. In 'Master' and 'Leo', however, the balancing act faltered, with second halves dipping into generic beats to accommodate star appeal. Nelson's 'Jailer' proved that experimenting with Rajinikanth can still strike gold. In fact, experiments are not new to the Superstar, from the sci-fi spectacle of 'Enthiran' to more understated roles. But the mixed reception to 'Vettaiyan', which struggled to balance emotion and mass appeal, is a reminder that this is always a tightrope walk, one that rests heavily on the director's conviction.Finding freshness in a saturated genreGangster action dramas have been dominating Indian cinema for a decade, with films like 'KGF', 'Pushpa', 'RRR', 'Salaar', 'Kalki 2898 AD', 'Animal' becoming a rage. But it is undeniable that the genre is now saturated, and repetition is its biggest enemy. Lokesh broke the mould once with 'Kaithi' and 'Vikram'. But with 'Leo', he faced criticism for a spectacular first half that gave way to a more formulaic second half.advertisement For 'Coolie', the challenge is not just to avoid the same trap, but to push the genre forward. The hinted sci-fi angle, the gold smuggling subplot, the multi-star ensemble - all of these could give the film a fresh texture. If the second half lands as hard as the first, Lokesh could deliver more than just a commercial hit; he could deliver a genuine genre reinvention.A storm worth waiting forTamil cinema has been yearning for a big-star commercial entertainer that works both critically and commercially. In recent years, the reliable 'mass' film has become unpredictable, with only unconventional hits like 'Amaran' and 'Maharaja' exciting audiences.With 'Coolie', the stage is set. The star is at his most experimental in years. The director is at a crossroads, eager to bounce back from mixed reactions to 'Leo'. The ensemble is stacked with talent, not just names. And the promise, whispered in visual clues, in Lokesh's own interviews, in the undercurrent of the trailer, is that this won't be just another gangster flick.If Lokesh plays it safe, 'Coolie' will still be a hit. But if he takes the calculated risks the trailer hints at, we might just witness the rarest of things in Indian cinema: a film that satisfies the mass audience, excites the critics, and pushes the genre somewhere new.- EndsTune In