Mumbai: Ahead of the release of his eagerly-awaited film ‘Coolie’, Rajinikanth shared a promotional video in which he showered praise on co-star Nagarjuna.
The 74-year-old Rajinikanth is not only in awe of 65-year-old Nagarjuna’s acting skills but also his youthful looks.
Lauding antagonist Simon (played by Nagarjuna), Rajinikanth said, “The biggest attraction is our King Nagarjuna playing the antagonist. When I heard the role of Simon, I was interested to see who would play it. When Lokesh told me that Nagarjuna agreed after six sittings, I was shocked. He’s not an actor to play the role just for money; he doesn’t need it. He has always played the protagonist.”
The veteran actor recollected working with Nagarjuna three decades ago. “I once acted with him 33 (34) years ago (Shanti Kranthi in 1991). He looked younger than he did back then. I’ve lost all my hair, and yet he’s maintaining his skin and physique. I asked him how he did it, and he said, ‘nothing but exercise and diet’.”
Rajinikanth shared that Nagarjuna finishes his dinner by 6.30-7 pm, and gives the credit for his looks to his father, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who always told him not to take anything to heart.
“I won’t forget the conversations we had while shooting for 17 days in Thailand. He’s not just handsome, he’s a gentleman. I’ve played a villain many times in my career, but even I wonder if I could play Simon like him; he’s fantastic,” said Rajinikanth.
Superstar @rajinikanth garu shares a heartfelt message with all the lovely Telugu audience and talks about his experience working on #Coolie ❤️🔥❤️🔥#CoolieTelugu releasing worldwide August 14th
Telugu States release by @asianreleases#CoolieFromAug14 @iamnagarjuna @Dir_Lokesh… pic.twitter.com/WhqYXCPcdI
— Annapurna Studios (@AnnapurnaStdios) August 4, 2025
‘Coolie’ also stars Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj and Aamir Khan.
The film, slated for release in theatres on August 14, will clash with Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s ‘War 2.’
