Kollywood director Lokesh Kanagaraj has a 100% success rate in the film industry. Even though he started his career with Sundeep Kishan starrer Maanagaram in 2018, which was a hit, it was Kaithi with Karthi in the following year, which catapulted him into the big leagues.
The movie also kickstarted his Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), which consists of even bigger hits like Vikram and Leo. Lokesh has also worked with some of the biggest stars in Indian cinema like Thalapathy Vijay, Kamal Hasan, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi and more, with his next Coolie set to feature Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Aamir Khan and more.
Lokesh Kanagaraj has directed Vikram, Leo, Master and more movies | Image: XLokesh, however, credits his success to Karthi. In a recent interaction, the Tamil director vehemently defended “tier-2 hero” tag given to Karthi by the interviewer. Lokesh shared that it was Karthi who gave him the scale to make a big movie like Kaithi when he was a “nobody”. He also promised fans that the sequel to Kaithi will be a huge success. Interestingly, Kaithi has acquired a cult status among fans. In fact, it has also been remade in Hindi as Bholaa (2023), with Ajay Devgn and Tabu starring in the lead roles.
“When I was no one, it was Karthi sir who gave me a huge scale to show my skills to the world,” Lokesh said. “So, as for me, Karthi sir is a big star. It was his belief in me that made me what I am today. I strongly believe I’ll give a huge hit to him with Kaithi 2,” the director further shared.
Rajinikanth’s Coolie will release on August 14 | Image: XMeanwhile, Lokesh’s next Coolie starring Rajinikanth as a retired gold smuggler is making huge noise before its release on August 14. It has minted $1.5 million in the North America markets for its premiere shows with a week still to go for its big screen debut. Coolie will release alongside Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s War 2 over the Independence Day weekend.