
Lokesh Kanagaraj upcoming movies: Rajinikanth's Coolie to Aamir Khan starrer superhero film
Lokesh Kanagaraj is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in Indian cinema, known for his action-packed ventures, including Vikram, Master, Kaithi, and others. In a recent interview, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan confirmed the director's lineup.
Coolie
Speaking with Too Filmy, the actor revealed that he would be appearing in a cameo role in Rajinikanth's Coolie. Making an official confirmation, Khan said his character would be an interesting one, which everyone would love.
The action entertainer by Lokesh Kanagaraj is slated for release on August 14, 2025, with stars like Nagarjuna Akkineni and Upendra Rao also joining the cast. Apart from them, actors Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, and more are in key roles.
While more details about the film are yet to be revealed, it is reported that the movie will not be part of Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe (LCU) and will instead be a standalone, similar to Master.
Kaithi 2
Talking ahead, Aamir Khan made it clear that the director's next venture would be Kaithi 2 with Karthi in the lead. The much-awaited sequel has been in limbo due to Kanagaraj's commitments and is now expected to kickstart shoot from the latter half of 2025.
For those unaware, the film is a sequel to LCU's first installment, Kaithi, which was released in 2019. The story focused on an ex-convict who is forced into a night's mission by an honest officer with a violent gang right on their heels.
With Karthi in the lead, the movie featured actors such as Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan, and many more in key roles.
Aamir Khan superhero film
Finally, the Bollywood superstar made it clear that he would be joining hands with Lokesh for a film. While not going into serious details, the superstar mentioned that it would be a superhero movie, which is set to begin shooting in the latter half of 2026.
On an interesting side note, Lokesh had initially expressed his desire to make a superhero film titled Irumbu Kai Maayavi, based on DC's The Steel Claw. However, this hasn't been confirmed yet.
With the director having such confirmed projects, he had once mentioned his ideas for sequels to Vikram, Leo, and a standalone Rolex movie starring Suriya in the lead.

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Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par debuts with Rs 11.70 Cr day 1 collection , matches Laal Singh Chaddha but falls short of 3 Idiots
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Sitaare Zameen Par box office collection Day 1: Aamir Khan's film barely gets a double digit opening as he tries to prove cinema supremacy, earns Rs 11.5 cr
Sitaare Zameen Par box office collection Day 1: Aamir Khan is back on the silver screen with his latest film Sitaare Zameen Par and while the makers have tried to push the film via its extensive round of promotions on social media, it seems like the results aren't what Aamir would have hoped for. The film had more than 9500 shows on its opening day and didn't have much competition in the theatres, but, despite that, it has only made Rs 11.5 crore, as per industry tracker Sacnilk. Aamir has been promoting Sitaare Zameen Par by constantly reminding the audience that they won't get a chance to watch this film on a streaming platform in a few weeks' time, so this might be their only chance in the near future to watch the film. This was his way of pushing the theatrical business as he believes that the model of the movie business has suffered greatly since the pandemic because of the 8-week window that is followed by OTT platforms. It is yet to be seen if his bet will pay off as the film has received lukewarm reviews, and even the opening day collections aren't as big as he might have hoped. While the most advanced booking reports had pegged the movie to do under Rs 10 crore on its opening day, the 'spiritual sequel' of 2007's Taare Zameen Par has done better than that. The average occupancy rates across the Hindi shows were 21.34%, as the morning and afternoon shows achieved around 16% occupancy, while the evening and night shows did slightly better and saw 20.21% and 32.50% occupancy respectively. As per an advance booking report by Sacnilk, which mentioned the total number of shows organised and tickets sold, the average occupancy of the movie came out to just around 12 people in every theatre. ALSO READ: In Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan finally faces the man in the mirror, as he trades perfection for vulnerability Aamir's last film, 2022's Laal Singh Chaddha, which failed at the box office, had similar number of shows on its opening day and earned around Rs 11.7 crore. During its lifetime, the film made Rs 61.36 crore. Almost 18 years ago, Taare Zameen Par, which was also promoted in a similar vein, made Rs 63 crore during its run. It is interesting to note that even though both – Laal Singh Chaddha and Sittare Zameen Par – are remakes, the latter has a much smaller budget, and this time around, it's only Aamir who is doing all the heavy lifting as he is the only established star on the film's poster. After letting go of huge OTT deals and talking about bringing back the true theatre-watching experience, Aamir and the team will be hoping that this weekend goes better for them than it did the last few times. The cast of the RS Prasanna directorial also includes Genelia Deshmukh, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishnan Varma, Vedant Sharmaa, Naman Misra, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain and Ashish Pendse, among others. The story has been penned by Divy Sidhi Sharma, and the film has been jointly produced by Aamir and Aparna Purohit. Music for the film has been composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and the lyrics have been written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.


Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
In Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan finally faces the man in the mirror, as he trades perfection for vulnerability
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So, stepping into his latest Sitaare Zameen Par, I carried certain skepticism. The reasons weren't singular. I didn't want to be told, once again, how blind we've all been, how sharply he's always seen. That lesson had already begun long before the opening frame, though those pre-release interviews, swollen with certainty, were hard enough to watch. But deeper than that was memory. It was Taare Zameen Par (Sitaare Zameen Par being its spiritual sequel) where this long performance of moral authorship truly began. To be fair, the film was more than just a sermon; it had heart, depth, tenderness. And yet, it was also the film that first carved out the myth: the image of Aamir Khan not just as an actor, but as a moral architect. In the years that followed, 3 Idiots, PK, Dangal, Secret Superstar, the narratives became increasingly tailored to orbit his image, to elevate it, to consolidate it. The stories moved, but always around him. So the unease was not incidental. It was earned. And the concerns, like the myth itself, had multiplied over time. And then, to make matters worse, the opening scene of Sitaare Zameen Par plays out with a familiar discomfort. Written and performed in a way that makes you brace for the inevitable, that slow drift into Aamir Khan's familiar air of subtle superiority. He appears as Gulshan, the junior basketball coach, seated off the court, yet unable to stay silent. From the stands, he advises, corrects, guides the head coach, dissecting every misstep, convinced the game is being played all wrong, and that only he knows how to fix it. Did Dangal's second half cross your mind? It should have. That's the point. That's the worry. Awakening again. And as the minutes stretch into hours, those early fears don't dissipate. They sort of grow roots. Because underneath it all, the film reveals itself to be what so many others have been: a simplistic entertainer, occasionally stirring, occasionally funny, but ultimately predictable. Its moving moments are genuine, yes. But also calculated, bracketed by the kind of screenwriting sleight-of-hand you can see long before it arrives. Like every Aamir Khan crowd-pleaser, it soothes the middle-class heart and instructs the middle-class mind. And yet, what almost lifts the film, what brushes it against something more, is the sight of Aamir Khan beginning, finally, to take apart his own myth. He is no longer the man who knows everything, who cannot be wrong, who carries the moral compass like birth right. He is no longer the invincible one, the conscience in the room, the perfect mind in a world of flawed others. In Sitaare Zameen Par, he is none of these things. And in that choice, the film becomes something else, a deconstruction of everything that made him the middle-class messiah. There's a different kind of pleasure here, not the comfort he usually offers, but a reversal of sorts. After years of being the one who instructs, he is now the one being instructed. After years of touting wisdom, we see him being touted. There's a thrill in that turn. A faint excitement in watching him called out, for being too clever, too self-sure, too wrapped in the illusion of perfection. Also Read | Sitaare Zameen Par movie review: Aamir Khan delivers fully committed performance in heart-winning comedy So, in the film, as Gulshan, he is politically incorrect and unrepentantly arrogant. He is rude, self-centred, a man who carries the belief that the world is simply too small for his genius. And so, it's no surprise that over the course of three hours, he becomes the one in need of awakening. One by one, every character holds up a mirror. One by one, they throw him under the bus, not out of cruelty, but because he's earned it. They remind him what it means to be dismissive, to be blind to others' feelings, to think that brilliance excuses disregard. In every sense, the film becomes his journey, of ego unravelling, of self being slowly confronted. And strangely, this is a huge shift. For once, Aamir Khan doesn't hijack the story halfway through; he centers himself from the very beginning. And because of that, it becomes honest. It becomes his. And maybe that's why the performance begins to land, because it isn't designed to awe. He plays a man-child, emotionally immature, socially unaware. His wide-eyed earnestness, his furrowed brow, his awkward charm, they all fit. Because this time, he is the one being corrected. And, thankfully for once, he listens. Perhaps the film's deepest triumph lies in the realization his character finally reaches: that it is okay not to be right. That you don't have to be the one with all the answers, the intellect, the mastery. That not every battle needs to be won, not every moment needs to be conquered. For so long, in every film where he has championed the different, the misunderstood, the misfit, the arc has still bent towards triumph. Moral victory, yes, but often, unmistakably, material as well. Consider the ending of 3 Idiots. It isn't enough that Rancho finds joy in teaching, in shaping young minds. No, we must also be told that he has become a world-famous scientist, more 'successful' than the classmate who once mocked him. Or even take Taare Zameen Par. It isn't enough that Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) is seen painting, finally at peace with himself. The film must assure us that he has also won the competition. That's where the pain creeps in. This idea that to be different, to be gentle, to be inward, one must still, eventually, emerge as victor. As if kindness needs a medal. As if sensitivity must be redeemed by success. As if only by winning the cycle race, only by wearing the gold medal, can he earn the title Sikandar. But here, in Sitaare Zameen Par, something softens. For once, we are allowed to imagine a hero who does not need to win to be worthy. Who does not need history to remember him, as long as the present is better for his effort. A hero not made by applause, but by intention. One who learns that trying is triumph. That growth is grace. That perfection is not a crown, but a pursuit.