Although Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie It emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025 and the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of the year, reportedly grossing Rs 518 crore worldwide, and received 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 considering its whopping budget of Rs 350 crore, according to industry tracker. sacnilk.
Since Coolie’s poor performance, there has been a major online attack on Lokesh Kanagaraj, with many speculative reports claiming that even the fate of his Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) remains uncertain now. Meanwhile, other reports maintain that although he was a favorite to direct the much-awaited Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan project, Lokesh was shown the door after the Coolie fiasco. The rumors gained momentum when director Sundar C initially took charge of the film, tentatively titled talaivar 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 come forward to rubbish all the 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 were both very keen to do a film together, and that was a great opportunity for me, because that would mean that they would act together after 46 years.” The Hindu he quoted the director as saying.
Mentioning that he worked on a script for the film for a month and a half, Lokesh added, “I wrote sincerely and gave my best to make a film starring both the legends. I narrated an action script, which both of them were very excited about. But both of them had been doing a lot of action films lately, so they wanted a light-hearted film. I can’t 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 also fallen on the LCU after it allegedly demanded a pay hike for the next installment in the franchise, Lokesh maintained that he will start working on Kaithi 2 once he concludes his Allu Arjun Project. “Due to the film with Rajini sir and Kamal sir, I asked the production house for some time. Later, when I left that project, Karthi sir (the Kaithi starrer) had roped in another director for his next film. So, now I had some time before Kaithi 2. Meanwhile, Mythri Movie Makers had given me a sneak peek a few years ago, and I always wanted to work with Allu Arjun sir. 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 is not GSquad (his production house) for me to close it. In fact, the name LCU itself is something that the fans gave it. So I cannot decide to close it. Be it Kaithi 2, Vikram 2 or Rolex, these are all my commitments, and I cannot shirk them. LCU will reopen immediately after Allu Arjun sir’s film. Meanwhile, we have an LCU film, Benz, in production, which will be released soon.” Commenting on Aamir Khan’s project, which has also been under discussion for quite some time now, Lokesh said that they are yet to come to a final decision due to other commitments.