Lokesh Kanagaraj: Placed 'Monica' in Coolie solely for market needs

As director Lokesh Kanagaraj prepares for the release of his highly anticipated action film Coolie, featuring Rajinikanth, he candidly admitted that the popular song 'Monica' was included in the movie solely for business purposes.

In his interview with the YouTube channel Valai Pechu, the director said that a number like 'Monica' is not a typical feature for the kind of films he makes. "I kept the song just to take care of the business ends of the film. But I can guarantee you that the song will not hinder the pace of the film, and it will only take the narration forward. Also, knowing how good a dancer Soubin Shahir was was a reason for 'Monica' and him being a part of it."

On why he didn't have Rajinikanth shake a leg in 'Monica', Lokesh said he didn't want the actor's presence as a ritual and for whistles alone. "The song, according to the story, did not necessitate the presence of Rajini sir's character." He also clarified that the label of 'item song' would not apply to 'Monica'.

Produced by Kalanithi Maran under his Sun Pictures banner, Coolie boasts a star-studded ensemble consisting of Nagarjuna as Simon, Sathyaraj as Rajasekar, Upendra as Kaleesha, Shruti Haasan as Preethi, and Soubin Shahir as Dayal. Rajinikanth plays Deva in the film. Confirming speculations, it was revealed that Aamir Khan will play Dahaa in Coolie. The film is a reunion of sorts as Rajini teams up with Sathyaraj 38 years after Mr Bharath and Aamir Khan 29 years after Aatank Hi Aatank.

The rest of the technical crew consists of cinematography by Girish Gangadharan, editing by Philomin Raj, and stunts by Anbariv. The film's dialogues are written by Lokesh and Chandhru Anbazhagan, who have also contributed to the additional screenplay.

Coolie is releasing on August 14 in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada.