Lokesh Kanagaraj (/loʊkeɪʃkənəɡərɑːdʒ/; born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Tamil cinema. 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 (LCU) franchise after the commercial success of Kaithi (2019), the franchise's first installment. He directed Master (2021), a standalone film featuring Vijay.[2] This was followed by Vikram (2022), the second installment in the LCU with Kamal Haasan in the lead role.
Lokesh Kanagaraj and Shruti Haasan come together for a musical project titled "Inimel". He then worked on Leo (2023) which became his most successful film, it became one of the highest grossing Indian films by earning over ₹600 crore (US$72 million) worldwide[3] and served as the third installment in the LCU.
Early life
Lokesh Kanagaraj was born in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India.[4] In PSG College of Arts and Science, he majored in Fashion Technology before pursuing an MBA.[5] He did his schooling in Palanayiammal Matric Hr. Sec. School Kalliyapuram, Pollachi.[6] 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.[7]
Career
Lokesh made his directorial debut with the short film, Acham Thavir (2012), which won awards for Best Director, Best Film and Best Actor at the Clubace short film festival.[8] In 2016, his short film Kalam was included in the anthology filmAviyal, produced by Karthik Subbaraj.[9] He directed his first feature film, Maanagaram,[10] in 2017, followed by the 2019 action thriller Kaithi produced by Dream Warrior Pictures, with Karthi in the lead role.[11][12] Lokesh's next film, Master, released in January 2021 and starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, received positive reviews and became the highest-grossing Indian film of that year.[13][14][15]
In June 2023, Lokesh announced to conclude his directing career after completing 10 films.[19] By November 2023, he launched his production company, G Squad, and unveiled his first production, Fight Club, directed by Vijay Kumar.[20][21][22] Later that year, in December, Lokesh announced a short film within the LCU, titled Chapter Zero, as a prequel to Kaithi 2.[23][24]
On 14 April 2024 coinciding with Puthandu, Lokesh announced his production venture, Benz, directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan and starring Raghava Lawrence in the lead. He has also written the story for the film.[25] On 30 October 2024, Benz was confirmed to be a part of the LCU.[26]
Filmmaking style
Lokesh's films are primarily in the noir 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 styles. Rathna Kumar, who worked with Lokesh on Master, Vikram, and Leo, mentioned that his penchant for retro songs, violence, and hyperlink narratives in his films come from his admiration for Tarantino.[27][8][28][29][30][31] Though Lokesh's films are sometimes criticised for glorifying bloodshed and violence, he admitted that while he does try to romanticise violence, he has always had to tone down such sequences in his films to appeal to family audiences. To make his stunt sequences believable, Lokesh avoids using ropes, and believes this limitation makes the sequences look brutal and raw.[32]
Editor Philomin Raj has worked on five films. The duo Anbariv have worked on four films. Anirudh, Rathna Kumar, Arjun Das, Arun Alexander and 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.
