Is Coolie similar to Thalapathi? Lokesh Kanagaraj spills beans on how Rajinikanth reacted after watching it

Pink Villa

2 days ago

Coolie is among the most awaited movies of 2025. Just a month away from its release, Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj's maiden project is seen as one of Tamil cinema's biggest box office bets this year. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Lokesh Kanagaraj spilled the beans on his upcoming venture and revealed how Thalaivar reacted after watching the first cut.
The Vikram director revealed that the 1991-released Thalapathi is his favourite Rajinikanth film, and he has tried to achieve the same level of balance while writing Coolie. Lokesh said, 'Out of Rajini sir's filmography, I love Thalapathi the most, and I have tried to maintain that balance with this film. That is what I tried to achieve with this writing.'
Kanagaraj went on to mention that Thalaivar hugged him after watching the theatrical print and acknowledged his vision. 'After watching the film in the dubbing studio, he [Rajinikanth] hugged me and said, 'It looked like Thalapathi for me!' That made my day, and that was the night I slept very peacefully after many months,' added Lokesh.
The young Tamil filmmaker underlined that no one can match Mani Ratnam's writing, but he was relieved a little after getting such a compliment from Rajinikanth himself. 'That is what I was telling my friends, too. If at all, I am doing a film with Rajini sir, it has to be somewhere close to Thalapathi. I cannot write a film on par with Mani Sir's quality, as his film and writing is unmatched.. but I got a little satisfaction when we compare that film with this one. Listening to the same words from Rajini sir was an achievement,' concluded Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals he had narrated a fantasy film to Rajinikanth before Coolie
Furthermore, Lokesh Kanagaraj also revealed that he had earlier narrated a fantasy film to Rajinikanth, to which the Superstar had immediately said 'Yes'. Though the duo decided to go with Coolie, as the fantasy film would've taken a year and a half more to roll on the floors. The filmmaker highlighted that almost 1000 people have worked on Coolie every day and night. It's been 4 months since the shoot, and he often visits Jailer 2 sets to meet the Tamil icon as he misses him a lot.
Coolie is locked to clash with Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR's War 2 at the box office on August 14th, 2025. The much-awaited movie also stars Nagarjuna, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, and others. Aamir Khan is doing a special guest appearance in the movie, while Pooja Hegde will be seen shaking legs on a special dance number.