Coolie is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film features an ensemble cast including Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, Rachita Ram with Aamir Khan and Pooja Hegde in special appearances. In the film, a former coolie union leader investigates the death of his friend which leads him to a dangerous crime syndicate.
The film was officially announced in September 2023 under the tentative title Thalaivar 171 as it is Rajinikanth's 171st film as the lead actor. The official title was announced in April 2024. Principal photography took place between July 2024 and March 2025, in locations including Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Bangkok. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Girish Gangadharan and editing by Philomin Raj. Produced on a budget of 350-400 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made
Coolie was theatrically released worldwide on 14 August 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics but became a commercial success. The film emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025, fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 and fourth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.
Plot At the Visakhapatnam harbour, Simon runs an operation trafficking gold and luxury watches under his logistics company "Kingpin Logistics" with his lieutenant Dayalan "Dayal". Simon's son, Arjun, had rejected his father's criminal business and instead works as a customs officer. Palanisamy, an undercover police officer posing as a coolie, is killed by Dayal, who then offers a reward for exposing another undercover officer in the gang.
In Chennai, Devaraj "Deva" runs a strict boarding house. After learning of his friend Rajasekhar's death, he attends the funeral, but Rajasekhar's daughter Preethi drives him away. A drunken friend, Ravi, admits that he and Rajasekhar ruined their lives, prompting Deva to investigate. Though the autopsy claims a heart attack, Deva finds evidence of chest trauma. Ravi reveals that Rajasekhar, to fund his daughters' education, had invented an electric chair for cremating animal remains. When his patent was rejected for concern of criminal misuse, Simon coerced him into using it to dispose of murder victims. Dayal tries to abduct Preethi as she knows how to operate the chair, but Deva intervenes and joins the operation, using the chair with her help. Deva tells Preethi to quit her job, but Preethi is helpless as she wants to support her sisters.
Eventually, Simon asks Deva to bury Dayal, claiming he was an undercover cop. They discover Dayal alive; he reveals his identity and threatens Preethi. Simon shows Deva a video of Dayal killing Rajasekhar. Dayal later contacts Deva from Nellore, demanding obedience and holding Preethi hostage in his hideout. Deva, following Dayal's orders, gains access to a harbour vault and uncovers a heart-trafficking ring targeting coolies from Saravanan. One order is to kill Arjun, but Deva spares him and asks him to run away with his lover in a boat. Dayal retaliates by threatening Preethi on a rooftop, but Deva unsettles him by revealing his real name, Dilip, and his police past as a Constable with the Kerala Police in Thrissur.
Deva then captures Dayal's wife, Kalyani, who is revealed to be actually posing as Arjun's lover, and demands Preethi's release. Kalyani frees herself, kills Ravi, and reveals that she and Dayal were undercover partners. She orders Dayal to pursue Preethi, who escapes on a train but unwittingly calls Deva using a code from Rajasekhar, revealing she is Deva's daughter. Deva's aide sacrifices himself to protect her from Dayal, who survives. Kalyani tells Dayal to go to her car, which was parked. Dayal finds Arjun there. Dayal calls up Simon and reveals that he was alive, and kills Arjun in front of him. Simon goes to Chennai and sends his men to Deva's mansion to kill off Deva and Preethi's sisters, but Deva kills off his men with the help of his lieutenant, Kaleesha, and 18 coolies who worked with Deva. On reaching Chennai, Kalyani captures Preethi but is herself kidnapped by Simon's men. Simon kills Kalyani in front of Dayal, then seizes Preethi to harvest her heart.
Deva storms the ship, revealing his past from 30 years ago as a coolie union leader in a North Indian town called Mandwa under Simon's father, Xavier, and his partner, Kakkar, who fought against their exploitation. When they tried to have 100 coolies killed to cover up their smuggling of drugs, Deva and Kaleesha led a revolt, eliminating Xavier at the cost of 70 coolies. A young Simon tried to witness his father's death, but his mother prevented him from doing so, with it becoming a traumatic event in his life. Telling Simon that Preethi is his daughter, Deva duels and kills him, and the coolies destroy the ship. Later, Deva, Kaleesha, Preethi, and her sisters are kidnapped and sent to a desert by a global syndicate leader named Dahaa, who is revealed to be Kakkar's son. After recognising Deva, Dahaa offers Deva a place as his right-hand man; Deva agrees, on the condition that his coolies are spared. Dayal is eventually captured and buried alive.
Preethi and her sisters depart abroad, forgiving Deva without knowing he is her father, calling him "uncle" in her farewell.
Cast
Production Development
During the filming for Master in late 2019, it was reported that director Lokesh Kanagaraj had met Rajinikanth at his residence in Chennai and narrated a script that impressed the actor. According to reports, the project, which would have been Rajinikanth's 169th film, was expected to be produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, with a planned start in April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Rajinikanth's prior commitments to Annaatthe (2021).
Though some reports suggested that the project was shelved due to Rajinikanth's political ambitions, others said the project was still active. In August 2020, Lokesh refused to confirm or deny the project, stating that only the producers could do so. Instead, Lokesh went on to develop a film with Kamal Haasan, which materialised as Vikram (2022). Rajinikanth's 169th film ultimately became Jailer (2023), directed by Nelson Dilipkumar.
Reports of a potential collaboration between Lokesh and Rajinikanth resurfaced in April 2023, followed by a reported photoshoot with the actor in May. Actors Mysskin and Babu Antony, who had appeared in Lokesh's Leo (2023), later hinted at Lokesh and Rajinikanth's collaboration. Lokesh again refused to confirm or deny the project's existence in July, until Sun Pictures announced the film, tentatively titled Thalaivar 171, on 11 September.
The film marked Rajinikanth's fifth venture with Sun Pictures after Enthiran (2010), Petta (2019), Annaatthe and Jailer. Lokesh received 50 crore in remuneration for the film, double his pay for Leo, while Rajinikanth was reportedly paid 150 crore. The official title, Coolie, was revealed on 22 April 2024. Lokesh stated that the film was separate from the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) and would focus on gold smuggling rather than the drug-related themes of his previous films.
Pre-production In an interaction with Baradwaj Rangan, Lokesh stated that the script was written in 2015, when he worked on the post-production of Maanagaram (2017), and was initially meant for a friend. After Rajinikanth expressed interest, Lokesh revised the screenplay in late 2023, with the first half alone taking six months to complete.
Rathna Kumar, a longtime writer collaborator of Lokesh, exited due to scheduling conflicts, and was replaced by Chandhru Anbazhagan, who reunited with Lokesh after Maanagaram. Pre-production and casting began in December 2023, and filming was expected to begin in April 2024.
Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa was initially attached but was later replaced by Girish Gangadharan, who had worked with Lokesh on Vikram. Anirudh Ravichander returned as composer for his fourth consecutive film with the director. Lokesh further continued to retain most of his norm crew technicians including stunt choreography duo Anbariv, editor Philomin Raj, costume designer Praveen Raja and production designer N. Sathees Kumar. Sandy Master worked as the dance choreographer. Lokesh confirmed that digital de-aging technology would be employed for flashback sequences featuring a younger Rajinikanth, following its use in Vikram (2022). Rajinikanth's younger voice was generated via artificial intelligence for these sequences.
Pre-production commenced its final phase in early April 2024, by filming and completing a promotional teaser. Although filming was originally scheduled for March 2024, it was postponed until June due to delays in set construction.
Casting
Rajinikanth would sport a grey-shaded hairstyle and beard for his role, reminiscent of his look in Kaala (2018). Rajinikanth's coolie badge number is 5821 since Lokesh's father used that number when he worked as a coolie. Sathyaraj joined in the role of Rajasekar, reuniting with Rajinikanth after thirty-eight years, their last collaboration being Mr. Bharath (1986).
Nagarjuna Akkineni, who plays Simon, praised Lokesh's "Gen Z-style" of filmmaking and described his role as "very liberating", adding that he had no hesitation in playing an antagonist, but was finalised only after at least six meetings with Lokesh. Malayalam actor Soubin Shahir made his Tamil film debut, playing Dayal. Lokesh later revealed that this role was originally intended for Fahadh Faasil, who declined due to scheduling conflicts. Kannada actor Upendra plays Kaleesha, marking his return to Tamil cinema after a 16-year absence since Satyam (2008). Rajinikanth described Upendra's role as a cameo. Commenting on his limited role, Upendra said he was not bothered since he was more satisfied to be acting with Rajinikanth.
Shruti Haasan, who previously collaborated with Lokesh in the music video "Inimel", revealed her participation in the film via an Instagram story in July which she later deleted. Her participation was formally announced the following month. Haasan later stated that Lokesh cast her in the role of Preethi shortly after they completed work on "Inimel". The names of the actors' characters were announced by the production house through character posters released from late August 2024 to early September.
Reba Monica John participated in the Hyderabad schedule, though her involvement remained unconfirmed until early December 2024. Junior MGR, who was recommended by Kamal Haasan during the filming of Vikram, unsuccessfully tried to be part of Leo before Lokesh offered him a role in Coolie for which he shed of weight. He joined during the Visakhapatnam schedule.
Monisha Blessy was cast after her performance in Maaveeran (2023) had impressed Lokesh. In June, Lokesh confirmed Kaali Venkat would appear. Rishikanth and Kanna Ravi's inclusion were confirmed during their presence in the film's promotional materials. Kannada actress Rachita Ram made her Tamil debut with this film. Tamizh, Charle, and Dileepan were confirmed to be part of the cast from their presence in the film's trailer.
In October 2024, reports surfaced that Aamir Khan would make a cameo appearance, reuniting with Rajinikanth after Aatank Hi Aatank (1995) and marking his debut in a South Indian production. His presence during the Jaipur schedule in December further substantiated these reports, and Upendra confirmed Khan's casting in April 2025. Khan stated that he accepted the role without reading the script, due to his admiration for Rajinikanth. A poster revealing the name of Khan's character, Dahaa, was unveiled in early July 2025. Pooja Hegde appears as the eponymous character in the dance song "Monica", paying homage to the Italian actress Monica Bellucci.
Filming