Nagarjuna Akkineni On His Next Film After Coolie: ‘It Is Family Drama'
Nagarjuna Akkineni fans, here's some good news for you all. After making waves with his intense antagonist role in Rajinikanth's Coolie, the veteran star has officially announced his next film, tentatively titled KING100. Curious? So are we. Well, the announcement came during his recent appearance on the ZEE Telugu TV show Jayammu Nischayammu Raa with Jagapathi, where he opened up about the project. Speaking about the film, he assured fans that this film will mark his return to a full-fledged hero image.
Nagarjuna said, 'KING100… It has been in the making for 6-7 months. Ra Karthik is directing the film; he's a Tamil director who narrated the story to me almost a year ago. It will be a grand film. Now that Coolie has been released, I will start working on it, and my next release will be KING100. It's a nice action, family drama movie."
The clarification came after the actor's recent choices of films like Coolie and Kuberaa, where he appeared as a co-lead. He added, 'I just want to make it clear that this time, I will be the protagonist."
Ra Karthik To Direct Nagarjuna's Next
Tamil filmmaker Ra Karthik has come on board to direct KING100. Karthik is best known for his directorial debut, Nitham Oru Vaanam, released in 2022. The romantic drama starred Ashok Selvan in a triple role alongside Ritu Varma, Aparna Balamurali and Shivathmika Rajashekar. Now, with Nagarjuna's 100th film as lead, Ra Karthik is expected to bring a refreshing flavour to the project.
Nagarjuna As Villain In Coolie
Nagarjuna's recent appearance was in the film Coolie, which hit theatres on August 14, 2025. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film featured Rajinikanth in the lead role. He played Devaraja, a former union leader-turned-rebel. On the other hand, Nagarjuna played Simon Xavier, a ruthless smuggler with a haunting past. The fiery face-off between Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna set the narrative of the film, leaving audiences impressed.
What Is KING100 About
KING100 promises to be an action-packed family drama with Nagarjuna as the lead actor. While further details about the cast and crew are awaited, the buzz around the film is already high as fans are eagerly waiting for Nagarjuna to play the full-fledged protagonist.
First Published:
August 20, 2025, 11:30 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Loading comments...
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
A strong hit of ‘Captain' nostalgia
As re-releases gain steam, riding on the collective urge to watch an old film again on the big screen, Vijayakant's Captain Prabhakaran is the latest to join the bandwagon. Hitting the screens again this Friday (August 22, 2025), the late star's iconic hit was originally released in 1991. Pencilled in as his 100th film then, the movie became a blockbuster and the moniker Captain stuck with Vijayakant forever. Helmed by R.K. Selvamani, whose earlier Pulan Visaranai with Vijayakant was another bonafide hit, Captain Prabhakaran released, to massive expectations from audiences, on April 14, Tamil New Year's Day. True to the director's trait of using current affairs as a crux in developing a plot, the film dealt with an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer on the hunt for a smuggler in a jungle. Forest brigand Veerappan was the obvious inspiration and the character Veerabhadran found lustre through the performance of Mansur Ali Khan. At that point in time, Vijayakant was part of the leading quartet that dominated Tamil cinema, with Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Sathyaraj, being the other top heroes. Carving a niche for himself through his action filmography, Vijayakant found his mark. The star, clad in battle fatigues, lit up posters that were plastered all over South India. Theatres in Madras brimmed with people, as Selvamani's tight screenplay, action blocks, and Ilaiyaraaja's music offered terrific embellishment. The song 'Aattama Therottama' became viral, even if that word did not exist in this sense, in the 1990s. Often, this single was belted out at high volume as minivans carrying college students groaned up the Ghats in Kodaikanal and Ooty. The song and Mansur's performance that had shades of Amjad Khan in Sholay, lent a wild western air to an otherwise quintessential Tamil film. Until that point in Kerala, Arjun was deemed as the 'Action-King' and his Tamil films did solid business. Through Captain Prabhakaran, Vijayakant too endeared himself to the audience beyond the Western Ghats. The movie hinting at Sathyamangalam as its base, was actually shot at Chalakudy in Kerala, with the Athirappilly water falls serving as a looming backdrop. It was no surprise that the dense tropical foliage in that area soon witnessed increased tourist footfalls. Besides thespian M.N. Nambiar, the movie also featured Sarath Kumar, Ramya Krishnan, and Rupini. Years later, there was another film Adharmam starring Murali and Nasser, which also dealt with the Veerappan angle. It was a taut celluloid enterprise and yet in public memory, it is Captain Prabhakaran that still lingers. That Vijayakant's name in the film, was inspired by LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, is another vital element in pop culture references. Often, the 100th film was seen as a jinx as many celebrated stars landed duds. However, Vijayakant changed that perception, with a movie that ticked all the commercial boxes and became a celebrated theatre experience.
India Today
11 minutes ago
- India Today
After Coolie, Nagarjuna teams up with Tamil director Ra Karthik for 100th film
Actor Nagarjuna, who is creating waves for his performance as Simon in Rajinikanth's 'Coolie', recently revealed details about his upcoming project. Following the theatrical run of the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial, the actor has confirmed his next movie, tentatively titled 'King 100'.On ZEE5's chat show Jayammu Nischayammu Raa, hosted by Jagapathi Babu, Nagarjuna opened up about his landmark 100th said, 'My next release will be 'King 100'. It has been in the making for the past 6–7 months. Karthik, a Tamil director, narrated the script to me a year ago. It's a grand film, and we will begin after 'Coolie'. It's an action-packed family drama.' Joking about his recent antagonist roles, he added, 'This time, I am the protagonist in the film.' The veteran star has recently appeared in films like 'Coolie' and 'Kuberaa', portraying characters with negative shades. Director Ra Karthik, who previously helmed the Ashok Selvan-starrer 'Nitham Oru Vaanam', will be leading the recently, he has been in the spotlight for Rajinikanth's 'Coolie', the action thriller released on August 14, 2025. Though the film opened to mixed reactions, it was Nagarjuna's screen presence, swag, style, and charisma as Simon that became the talking his pathbreaking classic 'Shiva' is set for a 4K re-release in September 2025.- Ends
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Coolie worldwide box office collection day 6: Rajinikanth beats Kamal Haasan's Vikram lifetime, yet to beat Vijay's Leo
Coolie worldwide box office collection day 6: Lokesh Kanagaraj's ensemble film Coolie, headlined by Rajinikanth, was released in theatres on 14 August in a clash with War 2. In less than a week, the film has beaten the lifetime collections of Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram with a ₹418 crore worldwide collection. Coolie worldwide box office collection day 6: Rajinikanth's film is now Lokesh Kanagaraj's second-highest-grossing film. Coolie worldwide box office collection According to the trade website Sacnilk, Coolie earned ₹216 crore net and ₹255.80 crore gross in India in its six-day run. With a collection of ₹162.20 crore from overseas, the film had made ₹418 crore worldwide by Tuesday. This means that Coolie is now Lokesh's second-highest-grossing film. The top spot for the filmmaker's highest-grosser is taken by Vijay's Leo (2023) with its ₹605.9 crore worldwide collection. Kamal's Vikram (2022) had held the second spot with a worldwide collection of ₹414.43 crore, which Coolie has now overtaken. Coolie has also become Rajinikanth's third-highest-grosser after 2.0 (2018) with its ₹691 crore lifetime collection and Jailer's (2023) ₹604.5 crore haul. Lokesh Kanagaraj's highest-grossers Rajinikanth's highest-grossers Leo (2023) - ₹ 605.9 crore 2.0 (2018) - ₹ 691 crore Coolie (2025) - ₹ 418 crore & counting Jailer (2023) - ₹ 604.5 crore Vikram (2022) - ₹ 414.43 crore Coolie (2025) - ₹ 418 crore & counting Prev Next Coolie earned ₹403 crore worldwide on day 5. Given that the film slowed down during the week, it remains to be seen how it sustains and how much it makes in its first week. About Coolie Coolie is a standalone film that is not a part of Lokesh's cinematic universe with the films Kaithi, Vikram and Leo. It tells the story of a former coolie union leader, Deva (Rajinikanth), who runs a subsidiary housing for students. He is forced to face his past when the sudden death of his friend Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj) brings him face-to-face with the gangster Simon (Nagarjuna). Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Rachita Ram, Upendra and Aamir Khan played key roles in it. The film received mixed reviews after its release.
