'Coolie' breaking news: Sun Pictures move Madras High Court for change in 'A' certification for Rajinikanth-starrer

One way or the other, Rajinikanth's latest release Coolie continues to be in the news. The film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj opened to mixed reviews on August 14 but has kept the cash registers ringing regardless, zooming past ₹400 crores worldwide in five days. It endured the biggest global weekend for a Tamil film, beating Vijay's Leo and clocked close to ₹380 crores in the four-day extended weekend.

While the initial collections are unprecedented, the long term future of the film seems volatile for now, given the audience feedback. There is also another factor that could plague the film and this is what Sun Pictures are now acting on. Most Rajinikanth films are censored with a clean 'U' certification, meaning they can be watched by people of all age groups, including children without parental guidance. In recent years, some of his flicks including Jailer saw 'U/A' certification, which meant that children could watch it, but with parental guidance. It is another matter altogether that Jailer actually had higher levels of violence than his latest release Coolie.

Which is why the 'A' certification for Coolie has surprised viewers after its release. When the censoring was done, people expected it to be a film packed with violence from start to finish, much like a vintage Lokesh Kanagaraj project would be. The director too, on his part, revealed in interviews that the film would be high on violence.

"No compromise on violence," said Kanagaraj in his interview with Baradwaj Rangan prior to the film's release.

However, now that Coolie has hit the screens, it is safe to say that the film barely has any stretch of violence that demands 'A' certification, which means only people above the age of 18 can view it. Not only does this restrict the influx of audience, but also results in a greater tax deduction compare to films with 'U' and 'U/A'.

Sun Pictures have moved Madras High Court challenging the certification and has requested the Court to direct the Censor Board to downgrade it to a 'U/A'. Whether such a move, if it materializes, will be too late for the film or not, remains to be seen. The case is set to get a decision in this week itself.