Lauding director Lokesh Kanakaraj's action extravaganza 'Coolie', featuring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead, one of Tamil film industry's well-known producers Elred Kumar has now expressed surprise and displeasure at the film having been given an 'A' certificate by the Censor Board.
Taking to his X timeline soon after having watched the film, the producer wrote, "Watched #Coolie @Dir_Lokesh fantastic work. #Rajini sir amazes me, Superstar is always a Superstar! @anirudhofficial 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, Tamil film fraternity needs to step up." Producer Elred Kumar isn't the only one to have expressed this opinion.
Scores of other viewers who watched the film too have expressed a similar opinion. In fact, the decision of the Censor Board to grant an 'A' certificate to the film raised many eyebrows, even before the film's release.
The development even had a section of the audience concerned. Family audiences and children form a considerable chunk of actor Rajinikanth's fan base and Coolie getting an 'A' certificate meant that families would be unable to take their children to theatres to watch the eagerly-awaited film.
However, despite the A certificate, the film has performed exceptionally well, setting the cash registers to ring at the box office. The film's makers, Sun Pictures, claimed that the film had made a worldwide gross of Rs 151 crores, the highest ever day one worldwide gross made by a Tamil film.
Coolie also became the highest overseas Day 1 grosser among Tamil films, making over 8.75 million Dollars. Coolie, which seems to be living up to the huge expectations from it, has made headlines by becoming the highest overseas procurement for a Tamil film to date.
Rumours doing the rounds in the industry also suggest that director Lokesh Kanakaraj's much awaited action entertainer has reached audiences in over a 100 countries around the world. Hamsini Entertainment, a key player in international film distribution, is backing the film’s global distribution.
Apart from Rajinikanth, the film also stars stalwarts from the Indian film industry like Nagarjuna, Sathyaraj, Aamir Khan, Upendra, Soubin Shahir and Shruti Haasan. Anirudh has composed the music for the film, marking his fourth consecutive film with director Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Cinematography for the film is by Girish Gangadharan and editing is by Philomin Raj. Interestingly, director Lokesh Kanakaraj had disclosed that 'Coolie', which is Rajinikanth's 171st film, will be a stand alone film and not a part of his Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU).