Social media is abuzz with news that Kannada star Nimma Upendra has been roped in for Rajinikanth’s next film, Coolie, with Lokesh Kanagaraj. While Upendra shared a picture with Rajinikanth on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, seemingly confirming the news, he soon deleted the posts, confusing fans.

Upendra in Coolie?

Upendra seemingly couldn’t contain his excitement before the film's producers, Sun Pictures, made an official announcement. He shared a recent picture with Rajinikanth on his Instagram stories, choosing the Coolie Disco song to hint at the collaboration. His now-deleted tweet was much more forthcoming, with the actor writing, “Feeling blessed to share Screen space with my idol SUPERSTAR Rajni sir #Coolie.”

Fans were confused by the move. One fan wrote, “#Upendra shares the snap with #Thalaivar #Rajinikanth and after sometime delete the tweet. Anyway well before it is known that he is part of #Coolie unit..Welcome sir.” Another wrote, “Upendra deleted the post. Any idea why?” Trade analyst Ramesh Bala however confirmed the news on X, writing, “Official: @nimmaupendra is part of #Superstar @rajinikanth - @Dir_Lokesh - @sunpictures's #Coolie.”

Upcoming work

Lokesh’s Coolie is slated for release in 2025. The film stars Rajinikanth, apart from Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan, Mahendran and Upendra. This is Rajinikanth’s 171st film, and the title was officially announced in April. The film went on floors in July in Hyderabad and Chennai. Music for the film is composed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Upendra was last seen in the 2023 Kannada film Kabzaa. He will soon be seen in films titled UI - a film he’s also directing, apart from Buddhivantha 2 and Thrishulam. Rajinikanth has wrapped up shooting for Vettaiyan. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier, Ritika Singh and Dushara Vijayan. It will be released in theatres on October 10.