Actor Upendra is currently touring across India along with Raj B Shetty and Shivarajkumar to promote their upcoming Kannada film, 45. In an interview with Galatta Plus, the actor was asked about his limited screentime in Coolie and what he felt about it.
Upendra said that while fans may feel what they feel, he was happy to do the role in Coolie, no matter how small it was. "I did Coolie only for Rajini sir. I have never even dreamt that I would work with Rajini sir, so I can't even call this opportunity a dream come true. I am not just a fan of his performance; I am his devotee. He is an inspiration to me for his performance, his talent, his philosophy and his way of life. Thalaivar is Thalaivar. For him, even if I was called for just one shot, I would've done it readily. I have no qualms about my screentime when it comes to sharing the screen with him. I am good even if I only got the chance to stand next to him. Initially, I signed the film when I had only one fight scene. Later, they further developed my character for a couple more scenes," he said.
In Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie, Upendra plays Kaleesha, a very old friend of Rajinikanth's Deva, who fights for the cause of coolie workers with him in their youth as well as in the present. Apart from the Tamil and Kannada stars, the film also featured Nagarjuna Akkineni, Soubin Shahir, Sathyaraj, Rachitha Ram, Shruti Haasan and Aamir Khan, among others. Upon release on August 14, the film opened to mixed reviews. The film is currently available to stream on Prime Video.
45 marks the directorial debut of Arjun Janya and is slated to hit theatres on December 25. Upendra also has Buddhivantha 2, Thrishulam, Guerrilla War and a Karvva Navneeth directorial in the pipeline.