Although Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025 and the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, reportedly collecting Rs 518 crore worldwide, it opened to mixed reviews from all quarters. Despite featuring stars like Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Shruti Haasan, and Sathyaraj in key roles, along with a special cameo by Aamir Khan, the Rajinikanth-starrer turned out to be an average performer, particularly given its massive Rs 350 crore budget, according to industry tracker Sacnilk.
Ever since Coolie’s underperformance, there has been a significant online attack against Lokesh Kanagaraj, with many speculative reports claiming that even the fate of his Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) remains uncertain now. Meanwhile, other reports argue that, although he was a frontrunner to helm the highly anticipated Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan project, Lokesh was shown the door following the Coolie fiasco. The rumours gained momentum when director Sundar C initially took over the movie, tentatively titled Thalaivar 173. Sundar was later replaced by Cibi Chakaravarthi. The film is produced by Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International.
Lokesh Kanagaraj on Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan films
Now, Lokesh Kanagaraj himself has stepped forward to dismiss all speculations and reveal the truth behind his exit from the Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan project. “I was in talks to do the film with Rajinikanth sir and Kamal Haasan sir. They both were quite eager to do a film together, and that was a very big opportunity to me, because that’d mean that they’re acting together after 46 years,” The Hindu quoted the director as saying.
Mentioning that he worked on a script for the movie for one and a half months, Lokesh added, “I wrote sincerely and gave my best to make a film starring both the legends. I narrated an action script, which they both were quite excited about. But then, both of them had been doing a lot of action films of late, and so, they wanted a light-hearted film. I cannot write that kind of film, and that’s why I backed out of that project.”
Lokesh Kanagaraj to start Kaithi 2 after Allu Arjun project
Refuting allegations that the curtain has fallen on the LCU as well after he allegedly demanded a salary hike for the next instalment in the franchise, Lokesh maintained that he will begin work on Kaithi 2 once he wraps up his Allu Arjun project. “Because of the film with Rajini sir and Kamal sir, I had asked the production banner for some time. Later, when I exited that project, Karthi sir (Kaithi’s protagonist) had signed another director for his next film. So, I now had some time before Kaithi 2. Meanwhile, Mythri Movie Makers had given me an advance a few years ago, and I have always wanted to work with Allu Arjun sir. So that’s how AA23 started. But I can confidently say that my film after this will be Kaithi 2.”
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He added, “LCU isn’t GSquad (his production banner) for me to close. In fact, the very name LCU is something the fans gave. So I can’t decide to shut it down. Be it Kaithi 2, Vikram 2 or Rolex, these are all my commitments, and I can’t shy away from them. LCU will be reopened immediately after the Allu Arjun sir film. Meanwhile, we have an LCU film, Benz, in production, which will come out soon.” Commenting on the Aamir Khan project, which has also been in discussion for quite some time now, Lokesh said that they have not reached a final decision yet due to other commitments.
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