#Anirudh Ravichander, #Coolie, #Lokesh Kanagaraj, #Nagarjuna, #Rajinikanth, #Sathyaraj, #Shruti Haasan, #Soubin Shahir

Coolie Review : Lacks menace and novelty

By TeluguFunda / August 14, 2025

Telugu Funda presents the review of Coolie, one of the biggest films to be made by Kollywood. Is it worth the hype? Is it watchable? Let’s find out.

Telugu Funda’s reveal of the plot:

Deva (Rajinikanth) leaps into the fray when he hears his old pal Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj) has been snuffed out by a shadowy force tied to a ruthless Vizag port city crew, helmed by the ruthless Simon (Nagarjuna). In the gritty heart of the port, Deva locks horns with Dayal (Soubin Shahir), Simon’s sly henchman, sparking an electrifying feud. Amid certain high-stakes turns, Deva dives headfirst into Simon’s murky underworld, fighting tooth and nail to rescue Preethi (Shruti Haasan), Rajasekhar’s heartbroken daughter.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Performances:

Rajinikanth: In the last ten years, controversially speaking, Rajini was awesome only in a couple of movies. Kabali was a one-action-scene wonder. Petta and Jailer tried to reinvent him drastically. Coolie, more or less, follows the Jailer path. The actor is not a disaster the way he was in Vettaiyan. But he is not dashing either. He is just mid in Coolie.
The bad guys. Nagarjuna was supposed to look lethal, but he doesn’t. Even the over-hyped ‘I am the danger’ number feels off-colour. The intended swagger was not delivered. Soubin Shahir is good, but his menace is limited to threatening female characters with brutalities. The rest of the negative characters are unmemorable.
The cameos: The attempt to showcase Aamir Khan as a glorified ‘chapri’ falls flat. The tattoos all over his body are annoying. Upendra’s cameo could have been directed by Jailer maker Nelson Dhilipkumar and we wouldn’t have known it. It is that generic.
The female characters: Shruti Haasan should have cried less. Rachita Ram has been (re)launched for sure; she is in for the long haul. Pooja Hegde’s cameo in the chart-topping ‘Monica’ song is a classic case of the post-2010s filmmakers not knowing how to make use of chartbusters. Reba Monica John is wasted in a no-dialogue role.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Technical Departments:

Music: Anirudh Ravichander has been clearly over-burdened with work. BGM was his calling card, but even in this section, he is slowly losing his mojo.
Cinematography: Girish Gangadharan’s work is commendable. The colour formula is good.
Making values: Sun Pictures is alleged to have splurged 70% of the total budget on fat paychecks to actors and technicians. Just Shruti Haasan is rumoured to have been paid Rs 4 Cr. Look at the VFX for the scenes where dead bodies are charred; it’s cringe.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Merits:

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s strength lies in staging otherwise ordinary situations as nail-biting ones. He builds up the tension well in Coolie, at least in the first half.
The pre-interval portions leading up to the intermission point are engaging.
The artistic way of staging some routine action scenes is commendable. The stunt choreography is nothing out of the ordinary. It is the manner in which they are staged (the BGM does play a small role here) that makes all the difference.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Demerits:

Why Simon and Dayal depend on Rajasekhar for disposing of dead bodies is underpinned by a ridiculous reason. It’s so childish that it’s frustrating that they infused it in a mega-budgeted, superstar vehicle.
The storytelling is convoluted. Lokesh’s narrational style is winding because he knows it’s a routine revenge-filled plot.
Aamir Khan’s Daaha is a silly cameo, if you think about it. Rolex (Suriya) worked because Vikram was an LCU movie. Daaha falls flat because Coolie is a standalone movie.
The second half is a thorough letdown unless you walk in with sub-zero expectations. A negative character roams the streets with a woman tied to him, and nobody even suspects him. There are other silly ideas strewn across the second half.
Some ideas are convenient. For example. the Lazarus Syndrome reference.
The negative characters are routinely evil, but none of them actually terrify you. Even Nag’s character is not spine-chilling.