Coolie (2025 film)

Coolie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLokesh Kanagaraj
Screenplay byLokesh Kanagaraj
Chandhru Anbazhagan
Story byLokesh Kanagaraj
Produced byKalanithi Maran
Starring
CinematographyGirish Gangadharan
Edited byPhilomin Raj
Music byAnirudh Ravichander
Production
company
Release date
  • 14 August 2025 (2025-08-14)
Running time
170 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget350–400 crore
Box officeest. 514–675 crore

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 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.

Coolie was theatrically released worldwide on 14 August 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics and 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.