Coolie actor Soubin Shahir: Manjummel Boys to Bheeshma Parvam; must-watch films on OTT
Malayalam actor Soubin Shahir makes his Tamil film debut with Rajinikanth’s Coolie on August 14, 2025. He plays Dayal, a role that was meant for Fahadh Faasil.
Malayalam actor Soubin Shahir got a bunch of newer audiences across the nation take note of him with 2024’s survival thriller Manjummel Boys. And now, he is dialling that up several notches, with a pivotal antagonist role in Superstar Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which releases in theatres on August 14, 2025. He’s already grabbed eyeballs with his energetic moves in the special song Monica from Coolie, in which audiences reckon he outshone Pooja Hegde and has had Rajinikanth shower him with praise galore after seeing Soubin in action on the set of the film.
Here's a look at 4 recent films available on OTTplay Premium that we think are worth a watch on OTT to know what Soubin’s made of
Soubin Shahir joined actor-filmmaker Basil Joseph in this black comedy crime thriller written and directed by Sreeraj Sreenivasan. Soubin played a waiter at a local toddy shop that becomes a crime scene, when the shop owner is found dead after heavy rain forces 11 people to stay put overnight, which they spend drinking and playing cards. The film follows the investigation into what turns out to be premeditated murder, by Basil’s character.
Written and directed by Chidambaram, the survival thriller Manjummel Boys is based on a real-life incident that happened in the Guna caves back in 2006. The film follows a group of friends from Manjummel, who head out on a road trip to Kodaikanal, when tragedy strikes one of them, who slips through a crevice in a restricted area and gets stuck deep within the Guna caves, a hole from which localites believe there is no coming back. Soubin played Kuttan, one of the friends, whose grit and determination to get his buddy out of this precarious situation ensured a life was saved. The actor also served as producer on the film, it was the highest grossing Malayalam film ever, until L2: Empuraan broke that record.
This horror comedy written and directed by debutant Jithu Madhavan was based on real-life experiences the filmmaker and his friends had during their college days. Soubin was joined by Arjun Ashokan, Sajin Gopu, Siju Sunny, among others, in this tale about a bunch of collegians trying to summon a spirit with an Ouija board and the troubles that befall them thereafter. Romancham was a big hit and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam movies of 2023. The film was remade in Hindi as Kapkapii, but did not enjoy the success of the original.
Amal Neerad’s action thriller film had Soubin as Mammootty’s right-hand man in a tale of power dynamics between feuding families. Bheeshma Parvam is also the film in which Soubin showed off his dance skills in the song Parudeesa, which Malayali audiences highlighted after the Coolie song Monica went viral and non-Malayalis began calling the actor a non-dancer.