Review: Coolie

Film: Coolie
Director: Lokesh Kanakaraj
Cast: Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Shruti Haasan, Soubin Shahir, Rachita Ram, Charlie, Sathyaraj, Upendra and others.
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematography: Girish Gangadharan
Editing: Philomin Raj
Rating: 3.5 stars

Director Lokesh Kanakaraj comes up with a neat, gripping action thriller that keeps you hooked to the screen, thanks to an excellent plot filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Synopsis:
Deva (Rajinikanth), a very capable man running a mansion, learns of the death of his friend Rajasekhar (Sathyaraj) and returns to attend his funeral. Rajasekhar’s eldest daughter Preethi (Shruti Haasan) shows hostility towards him, asking him why he came to her dad’s funeral. However, Deva refuses to leave Preethi and her siblings alone as he senses that Rajasekhar’s death wasn’t natural and that there could be a threat to the life of his eldest daughter. What happens then is what the film is all about…

The young director seems to have been aware of the fact that only a meaningful and layered story will keep the audiences interested in the film and that Rajini’s charm can only be an add on. As a result, he seems to have well and truly worked on the plot, which is actually what makes Coolie emerge a winner in my book. Make no mistake, the plot of the film is the true hero of Coolie and Rajinikanth is just another actor in the film.

The second most important factor to which attention seems to have been paid is the casting. Every actor picked for a role in the film is just perfect. Be it Rajini who plays Deva or Nagajuna who plays Simon or Soubin Shahir who plays Dayalan or Rachita Ram who plays a crucial role, every single one of them delivers a fantastic performance. Not a single actor is seen overacting and that is another reason why Coolie is highly enjoyable. Coolie is a film that celebrates Rajinikanth but it does so, in a gentle inconspicuous way, allowing the story to take centrestage at all times.

Performances:
Soubin Shahir comes up with a mindblowing performance in a character that has several shades to it. If he comes as a loyal bodyguard at one moment, he appears as a ruthless leader who enjoys killing people at another moment. He is a ruthless boss of a wide network, a scheming mastermind in one part and in another, is a humble henpecked husband, who is willing to take orders from his wife. The actor portrays every shade with absolute command, so much so, you tend to forget the individual he was just moments ago and begin to believe what you see of him at that point in time.

A special word of appreciation for Shruti Haasan, who plays Sathyaraj’s eldest daughter Preethi in the film. This is, by far, Shruti’s best performance in her career and the actress, with her performance, adds to the credibility of the plot and the film.

Nagarjuna is all handsome and so full of charm that you find it hard to believe that he has aged. The same can be said of Rajinikanth. Both Nagarjuna and Rajinikanth come up with stellar performances that make you believe them to be a lot younger than what you actually are.

Anirudh’s music looks to amplify emotions and one must say he succeeds partially. Girish Gangadharan’s cinematography is neat. Philomin Raj’s editing, for the most part of the film, is fine. However, he could have snipped off quite a bit in the last 30 minutes of the film. Tighter editing would have made the film much more interesting.

On the whole, Coolie is an engaging entertainer that definitely works.