Rajini Reveals How Kamal Delayed His Film With Lokesh

Tamil legend Rajinikanth’s keenly awaited gangster drama, Coolie, is all set for a record-breaking opening on August 14. The film is directed by Kollywood hit machine Lokesh Kanagaraj, marking his first-ever collaboration with the Superstar.

Coolie’s grand pre-release event was held in Chennai recently. Speaking at the event, Rajini, in his usual nonchalant style, revealed how Coolie was materialised with Lokesh Kanagaraj. Rajini’s revelation hints that a film with Lokesh was in the pipeline even before Kamal Haasan’s Vikram.

The Thalaivar revealed that he thought Lokesh’s debut film, Maanagaram, and Kaithi were excellent. “I watched the movie (Kaithi) and called him immediately. I wanted to get him before others could,” the Superstar said, amid a thunderous cheer.

Rajini continued, saying, “I asked Lokesh if he had a story for me. He said, “Sir, don’t even ask, I do have a story. I’ll tell you soon. But one thing, sir. I’m a Kamal fan, sir. Guess it’s my fate, but even Nelson comes to my house, asks for a good coffee, and before he starts the narration, he tells me he’s a Kamal fan. Did I ask whose fan you are? They were just indirectly telling me that I have to shun my mass hero antics and act intelligently like Kamal,” Rajini said, leaving the entire auditorium in splits.

The Superstar went on to say that Lokesh gave him a terrific narration, but only the first half. He had asked me for some time to come back with the second half. “And then I received a call from Kamal. He told me that he had a good script (Vikram) and that it’ll just take 40 days, and then he’ll send Lokesh to me. But Vikram’s shooting kept going on and on,” Rajini said.

“Vikram was released, but I didn’t hear from Lokesh. I started working on other projects. One day Ani (Anirudh Ravichander) told me that Lokesh had a story and asked if I wanted to meet him. I told Ani that I was waiting for Lokesh, but he never turned up. Just bring him first, I’m not letting him slip this time,” Rajini quipped.

Rajini further said that Lokesh had first narrated an out-and-out villain character and that he was quite happy. “But after a month, Lokesh told me that the story needed so many actors (as if he didn’t fill Coolie with too many actors). And that’s when he narrated Coolie’s story,” Rajini concluded.