Rajinikanth recalls painful memory of college mate mocking him as a coolie: 'Asked me to carry luggage into his tempo and...'

Pink Villa

a day ago

Veteran actor Rajinikanth, who is gearing up for his much-awaited action thriller, Coolie, started his acting career with the 1975 Tamil film, Apoorva Raagangal. His die-hard fans are aware of the fact that he used to work as a bus conductor in Bengaluru before entering films. But do you know that Rajinikanth also took up the job of a coolie?
Rajinikanth was once mocked by his college mate when he used to work as a porter.
Rajinikanth recalls his coolie days during film's trailer launch
During the trailer launch of Coolie, Rajinikanth recently recalled his initial days when people would yell at him during his porter job. The megastar shared a painful memory of meeting his college mate whom he used to mock earlier. The man asked Rajinikanth to carry his luggage and gave him Rs 2 for the job while mocking the latter.
'At that moment, he ridiculed me and said, 'How arrogant you were in those days', mocking my job. That was the first time I broke down crying in my life,' the 74-year-old megastar said.
Rajinikanth calls Coolie director Lokesh Kanagaraj the 'real hero'
In the same event, Rajinikanth referred to his Coolie director, Lokesh Kanagaraj, as a 'real hero' of the upcoming film. The veteran actor called him 'one of the most successful commercial directors' who has created a storm with an amazing star cast.
More about Coolie
Produced by Kalanithi Maran under the banner of Sun Pictures, Coolie is scheduled to be released on August 14, 2025, coinciding with the Independence Day weekend. It is clashing with Hrithik Roshan, Kiara Advani and Jr NTR's upcoming action drama, War 2, in the Hindi markets.
Apart from Rajinikanth, the upcoming Tamil action thriller also features Nagarjuna Akkineni, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, and Sathyaraj. Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is also a part of the star cast. Tentatively titled Thalaivar 171, it is Rajinikanth's 171st film as a lead actor.
After Coolie, Rajinikanth also has Jailer 2 in the pipeline. The film marks the sequel to his 2023 release, Jailer. He was last seen in the Tamil action drama, Vettaiyan, in 2024.