Lokesh Kanagaraj

Lokesh Kanagaraj (born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Tamil films. He started his career with a short film in the 2016 anthology Aviyal. He later directed his first feature film Maanagaram (2017). He created the Lokesh Cinematic Universe franchise owing to the commercial success of Kaithi (2019), making it the franchise's first installment. He directed Master (2021) featuring Vijay which emerged a commercial success followed by Vikram (2022) as the second installment in his LCU, with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, which emerged as one of the highest grossing Indian films. And then he worked on Leo (2023), a commercially successful project collaborating with Vijay again and serving it as the third installment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe franchise.
Early life
Lokesh Kanagaraj was born in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. In PSG College of Arts and Science, he majored in Fashion Technology before pursuing an MBA. He did his schooling in Palanayiammal Matric Hr. Sec. School Kalliyapuram, Pollachi. He is an ex-bank employee. He pursued his passion towards film making by participating in a corporate short film competition. The judge of the competition was Karthik Subbaraj. Impressed with his short film, he encouraged Lokesh to pursue a directorial career making films.
Career
Lokesh's career began with the short film, Acham Thavir (2012), which won him the best director, best film and best actor awards at the short film festival Clubace. In 2016, his short film, Kalam, was included in the anthology film, Aviyal, produced by Karthik Subbaraj.
In 2017, Lokesh made his directorial feature debut with the hyperlink film, Maanagaram. In late 2018, he began working on a film for Dream Warrior Pictures, the same production company behind Maanagaram. His next venture featured Karthi in the lead role in the action-thriller Kaithi.
After Kaithi, his next film was the action-drama, Master, starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi. It was released on 13 January 2021, a day before the Pongal festival. It opened to mostly positive reviews and emerged as a commercial success. Master was the highest grossing Indian film of 2021.
He then directed Vikram (2022), starring Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faasil. The huge success of the film and the Lokesh Cinematic Universe catapulted him into stardom. His next directorial after Vikram is Vijay's 67th film, Leo.
Following Leo, Lokesh announced his film with Rajinikanth, for his 171st film, tentatively titled as Thalaivar 171. It will be produced by Kalanithi Maran, under Sun Pictures, and the music will be composed by Anirudh Ravichander.
In 2023, Lokesh announced his plans to quit directing after completing at least 10 films.
Filmmaking style
Lokesh's films are primarily in the action genre. He has likened himself to John Woo, who is also known mainly for directing such films. Despite this, Lokesh has expressed interest in exploring other genres such as fantasy and comedy. He has cited action films from the 1980s and 1990s as influences on his films, and has named Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino as some of his favourite directors due to their filmmaking style. Rathna Kumar, who has worked with Lokesh on several projects, says Lokesh's penchant for retro songs, violence and hyperlink narratives in his films comes from his admiration for Tarantino.
Filmography
Recurring collaborations
Editor Philomin Raj has worked on five films. The duo Anbariv have worked on four films. Anirudh, Rathna Kumar, Arjun Das, and Arun Alexander, Dheena, have worked on three films. Only people who have worked in three or more films are listed. This list only concerns Lokesh Kanagaraj's directorial films.
Accolades
References
External links
1986 births
21st-century Indian film directors
Living people
Tamil film directors
Tamil screenwriters