Coolie: Did Fahadh Faasil turn down Rajinikanth film after being trolled for Vettaiyan? Lokesh Kanagaraj clarifies
Coolie director Lokesh Kanagaraj has revealed that he had first approached Fahadh Faasil for a role, but since he was busy, he cast Soubin Shahir in Rajinikanth's upcoming Tamil film.
Last Updated: 12.18 PM, Jul 15, 2025
Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil has been able to make a mark across industries, including in Tamil cinema. He was seen with Rajinikanth in the Tamil superstar’s last film Vettaiyan, but FaFa got trolled, something rare for the actor. Now, Rajinikanth is gearing up for his next big release Coolie, which is helmed by director Lokesh Kanakaraj. Did Fahadh Faasil turn down the Rajinikanth film after the bitter experience in Vettaiyan? Lokesh Kanakaraj clarifies…
Lokesh Kanakaraj on approaching Fahadh Faasil for Coolie
Coolie is an upcoming Tamil film, starring Rajinikanth in the lead role and also features Malayalam actor Soubin Shahir. Now in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Coolie director Lokesh Kanagaraj has revealed that he had not written the character for Soubin Shahir first.
Stating that he wanted to work with another star, Lokesh said, "I developed the character for nearly six months. I approached Fahadh Faasil, but his dates were not available.”
The Tamil filmmaker then approached Soubin, who readily gave his nod.
In Rajinikanth's action-packed 2024 film Vettaiyan, Fahadh Faasil was seen as Patrick. However, many FaFa fans were disappointed with the role, which did not give him much room to perform.
Lokesh also spoke about Rajinikanth agreeing to Coolie, soon after the star heard the first narration. Telugu actor Nagarjuna is also a part of the much-anticipated Tamil action thriller. Interestingly, Lokesh remarked that he had to persuade Nagarjuna more than Rajinikanth to come on board the project.
Coolie is set to release in theatres on August 14, 2025, and will clash with the Hindi action thriller War 2, starring Jr NTR and Hrithik Roshan.
When Fahadh Faasil replaced Soubin Shahir
Earlier, Fahadh had replaced Soubin Shahir in the Malayalam movie Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, helmed by Dileesh Pothan. The director recently told The New Indian Express that Soubin Shahir was considered for the thief role first, but since he was busy with his directorial film, it went to Fahadh.
This is one of the most notable performances of Fahadh, which fetched him a National Award for Supporting Actor.
On the other hand, Soubin Shahir has been the buzzword associated with Coolie for the past several days, ever since the latest song Monica was dropped online.