Review: Coolie: Irregular But Appealing

 

Movie: Coolie
Rating: 2.75/5

Cast: Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Sathyaraj, Shruthi Haasan, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Aamir Khan, Rachita Ram, Ravi Kanna, and others

Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Produced By: Sun Pictures

Release Date: 14-08-2025

Story:

Rajasekhar (Satyaraj) dies of a heart attack, and his three daughters are left shocked. Deva (Rajinikanth), Rajasekhar's old friend, meets the latter's elder daughter, Preethi (Sruthi Haasan), and tells her that there are mysterious events behind her father's death. The rest of the story is about how Deva finds the men behind his friend's murder and what Simon (Nagarjuna) has to do with his past and present.

Performances:

Rajinikanth's character is tailor-made for him, and he impresses as Deva with a great performance in some emotional scenes and maintains the effect with his towering screen presence. Nagarjuna looks good as Simon. But though his character is introduced nicely, it goes off the screen and ends on a weak note.

Sathyaraj does well in an important character, and so does Shruthi Haasan as his daughter. Soubin Shahir is superb as the baddie and brings the required weird touch to the role. Upendra and Aamir Khan appear in cameos near the end, and though their scenes are nothing sensational, they do add the required spice to the film's ending. Rachita Ram gives a solid impact in a short role, while Ravi Kanna and others are okay.

What Worked for the Film:

The initial establishment of Simon and his men is good. The introduction sequence of Deva and the subsequent emotional parts with Shruthi Haasan also come off well. The hostel fight scene and the interval episode work well for the film. The second half also has some high moments, such as the Kokki theme fight and the scene where Dayal gets blackmailed by Deva. Also, the end part, where a special character enters, provides the required intrigue with a nice touch of Deva's backstory. Anirudh Ravichander might not have given his best for the film, but his music definitely adds the depth to the proceedings right from start to end.

What did not work for the film:

The storyline is very ordinary for such a huge combination of stars and a talented director like Lokesh. The villains and their secret crimes—the connection between the negative characters is not well established. The chase sequence in the second half between Sruthi and Soubin is too dragged out.

As said above, Nagarjuna gets an intriguing setup in the first half as Simon, but he is almost missing in the second half, and the fight between him and Rajinikanth is not up to the mark. The screenplay in the second half should have been tighter, as it looks all over the place with so many characters and tracks.

Coolie Review and Verdict:

Although the screenplay fluctuates in the second half, and the narrative appears scattered, Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie successfully delivers enjoyable segments in both halves. The unique style and captivating screen presence of Rajinikanth enhance the impact of those moments. The ending of Simon's character and the cameos could have been more effective.