Coolie movie review: Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj film is a starry powerhouse with disjointed connections and unclear writing
Coolie movie review: Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj film boasts star power and intriguing plot elements, but with a disjointed narrative, it leaves fans wanting more.
Last Updated: 12.12 PM, Aug 14, 2025
Coolie movie plot:
Simon (Nagarjuna), the smuggling kingpin at the Vishakapatnam port, runs his syndicate with second in command Dhayal (Soubin Shahir). We know a policeman had infiltrated the group for the past eight years, and the sudden death of Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj) has brought back his friend Deva (Rajinikanth) to the port city from Chennai. But what’s the mystery behind Rajasekhar’s death, and why does Simon keep saying he has seen Deva before?
Coolie movie review:
What was often called out at commercial cinema, was that it has little to no substance to offer in terms of enriching filmmaking free of gimmicks. But Lokesh Kanagaraj operated with the sphere of commercial cinema that thrives on the monetary aspect to make films, while they also enthralled the audience with a little more to offer than the staples of template flicks. In his latest Coolie, a film that has no dearth of star power, Lokesh seemingly has forgotten his recipe for a perfect concoction and it ends up being a diluted feature with only starry highlights.
On paper, Coolie is a Lokesh film as much as it is of Rajinikanth’s. It has a multi-character storyline, a smuggling syndicate as backdrop, a flashback that may or may not have an overall contribution, and even boasts an Agent Tina-esque sort of a set piece. But despite the signatures of Lokesh written all over these elements, Coolie lacks an engaging screenplay that does not align the stars correctly.
Simon’s Kingpin syndicate runs on smuggling watches, gold bars and whatnot. But very early on, we are tipped off that the gang has something more dangerous going on underneath. One would expect that the ruthlessness of Dhayal, is just a watered-down version of his boss Simon, but Coolie chooses to invest less time in characterisations and more in the build-ups. There are little nuggets of information that we get to know, for instance, how Simon’s son Arjun (Kanna Ravi) is away from the ring and is a Customs Officer, or about how anti-alcohol crusader Deva’s mansion in Chennai is a house for noble causes and has some silent forces to reckon with.
And when it wants to delve into the death of Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj), whose brainchild invention has got to do something with Simon’s gang, Coolie thrives on the Rajini mode, and there is nothing short of heroism that plays right out of the star’s playbook. Slow-motion shorts, punch dialogues and calm before the storm stills, the usual trademarks, are explored to the fullest. Lokesh scores high when it comes to using the Rajini-ism to the fullest, and the best streaks are during the de-aged flashback portion that comes towards the fag end. But to get there, Coolie makes you wait to unravel each plot mid-way and hops on to the other, in a way testing the patience. With spoilers, Coolie foreshadows some twists, and much like Lokesh's previous films that wants to bring the characters together, this film too attempts, but leaves you unsatisfied.
While there are no spoilers in terms of casting, it would not be befitting to tell it has justified each of the star for the role. Soubin's Dhayal, who gets a major share in the screenplay and story, gets a field day to unleash his performance, while Upendra's Kaleesha's limited screen presence gets an elevated background score for the stunt sequences. As for Aamir Khan's Dahaa, a role that might want you to take it with a pinch of salt, it makes you ponder if the star was the right choice after all, or was it just for a pan-Indian phenomenon? Nagarjuna, who got a layered role in Kuberaa recently, serves as the primary antagonist, but appears to have gotten a one-dimensional character. Shruti Haasan's Preethi, Sathyaraj's Rajasekhar, or even Rachitha Ram's one-off role, have prominence but that does not guarantee a cinematic experience.
By pushing the fleshier bits to its fag end, and keeping the audience guessing on knowing the whereabouts of character arcs, Coolie becomes a missed opportunity of pulling on something big that Tamil cinema has not seen for a while - a story with no compromises when good stars come in.
Coolie movie verdict:
Coolie is a star-studded gangster drama that may satisfy the Rajinikanth fan in you, for it thrives on the charm the actor brings (some credit to the other stars too who pull in their weight). Apart from a few interesting pockets of writing, Coolie gets a disjointed narration and a much lesser adrenaline rush to make you enjoy. If your love lies with Lokesh's previous stints in making unique commercial cinema with substance, Coolie might be a detour you aren't looking forward to.
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