Rajinikanth said at a recent promotional event for Coolie that Lokesh Kanagaraj's Kaithi is the film that made him interested in working with the filmmaker. "I saw Lokesh's first film Maanagaram, it was excellent. Then, none of his films came out for the next two-three years," said Rajinikanth, alluding to the pattern of talented filmmakers fizzling out after showing promise initially. However, Rajinikanth said that Kaithi made him convinced that Lokesh is no one-shot wonder. "I wanted to get him before others could," said the actor.
In his signature style, Rajinikanth also narrated a story about the time he met the filmmaker to talk about a potential collaboration. “I asked him ‘Do you have a subject in mind for me?’. He said ‘I do, but first I have to tell you that I am a Kamal (Haasan) fan.’” Rajinikanth then quipped that Nelson, his Jailer director, asked for a good cup of coffee during a similar meeting, as opposed to Lokesh who mentioned his longtime contemporary. “Did I ask you whose fan you are?” quipped Rajinikanth, eliciting big smiles from both Lokesh as well as his co-star and Kamal’s daughter Shruti Haasan.
The actor also revealed that it was Lokesh’s way of indirectly suggesting him of eschewing his usual acting flourishes and instead portraying his character more intelligently. “I could tell. I have acted in Mani Ratnam sir’s film (Thalapathi) after Nayakan and a Shankar film (Shivaji) after he did Indian,” said the actor, seemingly telling Kamal, “Anything you could do, I could do just as well.”
Kamal and Lokesh worked together on 2022's Vikram. Slated for an August 14 release, Coolie marks Rajinikanth and Lokesh's maiden collaboration.