Lokesh Kanagaraj

Lokesh Kanagaraj (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 featuring Vijay. This was followed by Vikram (2022), the second installment in the LCU, with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, which emerged as one of the highest grossing Indian films.

He then worked on Leo (2023), which became his most successful film, it became one of the highest grossing Indian films, earning over inr 6000000000 worldwide, collaborating with Vijay again and serving it as the third installment in the LCU.

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 was Vijay's 67th film, Leo.

Following Leo, Lokesh announced his film with Rajinikanth, for his 171st film, tentatively titled as Thalaivar 171. It was produced by Kalanithi Maran, under Sun Pictures, and the music was composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The film's official title Coolie was unveiled in April 2024.

In June 2023, Lokesh announced his plans to quit directing after completing at least 10 films.

On 27 November 2023, he made his entry into film production by launching his production house G Squad. The first look of his debut presenter Fight Club was released on 29 November 2023. The film will be featuring actor director Vijay Kumar in the lead role. On 14 Dec 2023, a short film of LCU was announced which would serve as a predecessor to Kaithi 2.

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.

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 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.

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.