Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals Coolie was not the first story narrated to Rajinikanth, changed even though Jailer star loved it

Any film led by Rajinikanth would create significant buzz, given the massive fan following the Tamil Superstar enjoys. Even then, his upcoming collaboration with Lokesh Kanagaraj, a film titled Coolie, has got fans even more excited as the director has helmed stellar movies such as Vikram with Kamal Haasan in the lead. Now, Lokesh Kanagaraj has spoken about how he crafts his films, revealing that Coolie is not the first story he narrated to Rajinikanth, and why he changed it even though the Jailer star loved it!

Lokesh Kanagaraj on why he dropped his first story for Rajinikanth

In a recent chat with Sudhir Srinivasan that is going viral on social media, Coolie director Lokesh Kanagaraj said that he had initially pitched a different story to Rajinikanth.

"I narrated a different story to Rajini sir. That story I did not do. We spent two months working on that. Rajini sir loved the story a lot. I also liked it. But two months later, I called him up and said we will do a new story. That's Coolie," recounted the Kaithi director.

Explaining why he decided to drop the story, which even the Enthiran star liked, Lokesh said, “"Somewhere down the line, I lost excitement for the project. And if I need that excitement, I will have to go back and work on it for one year. I can't waste Rajini sir's prime time like that.” And he worked on the other story, which is now Coolie.

Coolie release date and cast

The upcoming Tamil film, Coolie, is set to release in theatres on August 14, 2025, much like Rajinikanth’s previous hit Jailer, which also was an Independence Day weekend release. 

Lokesh Kanagaraj has written and directed this film, touted to be an action thriller. Apart from Rajinikanth, the Tamil film also stars Nagarjuna, Upendra, Sathyaraj, and Shruti Haasan in other key roles. Aamir Khan is also rumoured to feature in the film, though there has been no official confirmation.