The veteran actor Sathyaraj, whose real name is Rangaraj Subbiah, has worked in over 200 films with the majority of them being Tamil movies and also a few Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada films.
Even after working for more than three decades since his debut in 1978, Sathyaraj gained nationwide fame when he played the iconic role of Kattappa in SS Rajamouli’s two-part action films Baahubali, released in 2015 and 2017. The movies turned out to be blockbuster with the worldwide gross earnings of over Rs 2450 crore with Baahubali: The Beginning minting Rs 650 crore and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion collected Rs 1800 crore.
Sathyaraj and Rajinikanth to reunite after 39 years in Coolie
Now, Sathyaraj has claimed that his next film will also earn Rs 1000 crore worldwide. His next release is the action-packed thriller Coolie, which is one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Sathyaraj is reuniting with Rajinikanth after 39 years for Coolie, which also stars Nagarjuna, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan in the leading roles with Aamir Khan in a cameo appearance. The film’s trailer and audio launch was recently held at a grand event in Chennai on August 2, in which Sathyaraj said, “This will be Tamil cinema’s first Rs 1000 crore film.”
Before Coolie, Sathyaraj and Rajinikanth were seen together in the 1986 Tamil film Mr. Bharath. Even though Sathyaraj is four years younger than Rajinikanth, he played his father in the S.P. Muthuraman directorial, which was the remake of the 1978 Hindi blockbuster Trishul. Now, the two Tamil stars will share the screen together after 39 years in Coolie.
Sathyaraj rejected Sivaji and Enthiran
In 2024, Sathyaraj revealed that he was offered Rajinikanth’s Sivaji and Enthiran, but rejected both the movies as he didn’t like the roles. Talking to Indiaglitz, he said, “After I became a hero (he began his career with villain roles), I was approached for two Rajinikanth films. The first one was Sivaji; the other was Enthiran. I was approached to play Danny Denzongpa’s role (an evil scientist who corrupts Chitti Robo). I wasn’t satisfied with both roles. Otherwise, what problems do we have?.”
Coolie vs War 2
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Coolie will clash at the box office with Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, and Kiara Advani-starrer War 2 on August 14. The sixth film in the YRF Spy Universe after Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, Pathaan, and Tiger 3, and the direct sequel of War, the Hindi action thriller is directed by Ayan Mukerji.