Did Rajinikanth body-shame 'Coolie' co-stars Aamir Khan, Soubin Shahir?
What's the story
Superstar Rajinikanth is facing backlash for his remarks about his Coolie co-stars Soubin Shahir and Aamir Khan. During a 40-minute speech at the film's audio launch in Chennai on August 2, he referred to Shahir as "bald" and Khan as "short," before praising their performances. The comments have upset many netizens who feel he was body-shaming them.
Casting concerns
This is what Rajinikanth said
Rajinikanth admitted to having initial doubts about Shahir's casting as he was unaware of his work. He said, "I asked Lokesh (Kanagaraj, director), 'Who is Soubin? Which films has he acted in?' He mentioned Manjummel Boys, where Soubin played a key role." "I still had doubts and even questioned whether he would suit the role because he was bald. But I eventually stayed quiet because Lokesh had full confidence in him."
Performance appreciation
'He stands tall among them all despite being short'
Despite his doubts, Rajinikanth was impressed by Shahir's performance in Coolie. He said, "When I finally arrived, he showed me Soubin's scenes, and I was blown away. What an actor! Hats off!" He also spoke about Khan's cameo, saying he was surprised about it as he thought Khan would take years to agree to a script. Praising Khan's standing as a superstar, Thalaiva said, "He stands tall among them all despite being short. What a legend!...My salute to you, sir."
Online reactions
Some netizens defended Rajinikanth, others criticized him
While some netizens supported Rajinikanth's candidness, others were not happy with his choice of words. One user wrote, "Imagine if words like these have came from someone like Chiranjeevi or Balayya or Mohanlal or Bachan, would these people have left them without questioning?" Coolie will clash with War 2 on Thursday, August 14.