Lokesh Kanagaraj is an Indian film director who works primarily in the Tamil film industry who started his film career with the 2016 anthology film called Aviyal. He is best known for writing and directing the action-thriller films Maanagaram (2017), Kaithi (2019),and his upcoming movie Vikram.
Film career
He was born in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore. He majored in fashion technology before pursuing his MBA. He was an ex bank employee. He pursued his passion which is towards film making by participating in a corporate short film competition. The judge of the competition was director Karthick Subbaraj. He then encouraged Lokesh to continue making films.
In 2016, his short film Kaalam was included in the anthology film Aviyal produced by Karthick Subbaraj.
In 2017, he made his directorial feature debut with the action-thriller Maanagaram starring Sundeep Kishan, Sri, Regina Cassandra, Madhusudhan Rao, and Charle in the lead roles.
In late 2018, he began working on a film for Dream Warrior Pictures, the same production company behind Maanagaram. With Karthi in the lead role, the action-thriller was titled Kaithi.
He completed an action-thriller Master which has Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles. Which was released on 13 January 2021, a day before the Pongal festival. Although the film received mixed reviews, it ran successfully in theaters.
In 2020, he announced his next directorial venture produced by and starring Kamal Haasan. The title of the film was revealed in a teaser as Vikram on 7 November 2020.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Aviyal | Yes | Yes | Anthology film Kalam segment |
| 2017 | Maanagaram | Yes | Yes | |
| 2018 | Vella Raja | No | Yes | Web Series Co-Writer |
| 2019 | Kaithi | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Master | Yes | Yes | Cameo appearance |
| 2021 | Vikram | Yes | Yes | Pre-production |
Awards and nominations
| Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maanagaram | 10th Vijay Awards | Best Debut Director | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| Kaithi | Zee Tamil Cine Awards | Favourite Director | Won |