Despite middling reviews, Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie has been steady at the box office, having collected Rs 158.35 crores in three days. Producer Elred Kumar, known for backing Viduthalai: Part 1 and Part 2, recently took to his X handle to praise the film while also condemning the ‘A’ censor certificate it has received.

He wrote, “Watched Coolie. Lokesh Kanagaraj, fantastic work. Rajini sir amazes me. A superstar is always a superstar! Anirudh elevates the film to another level. Other language films with more violence get U/A, yet Coolie gets an A? This film didn’t deserve that. Something fuzzy, the Tamil film fraternity needs to step up.” (sic)

Ever since the film’s release, many have been questioning the film’s censor certificate, comparing Coolie to Rajinikanth’s own Jailer, which had a lot more violence and bloodshed and received a ‘U/A’ certificate.

Coolie revolves around Deva (Rajinikanth) who tries to bring down a crime syndicate in an attempt to avenge the murder of his friend and protect his daughter, Preethi (Shruti Haasan). An excerpt from CE's review of the film reads, "There are so many characters and yet, the writing doesn't allow any of them to flourish except for Soubin’s Dayalan and Shruti’s Preethi. Surprisingly, even Deva gets a raw deal as his start-stop arc is as random as the machinations of Simon and the machine of Rajasekhar."

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s sixth directorial, Coolie, also stars Shruti Haasan, Soubin Shahir, Nagarjuna, Upendra, Sathyaraj and Rachitha Ram in lead roles. While Aamir Khan and Pooja Hegde play cameos, the film also stars Kanna Ravi, Dhileepan, Rishikanth, Reba Monica John, Kaali Venkat, and Monisha Blessy, among others.

Backed by Sun Pictures, the film has cinematography by Girish Gangadharan, editing by Philomin Raj and music by Anirudh Ravichander. The film is a standalone which is not a part of the filmmaker’s Lokesh Cinematic Universe, or LCU.