Lokesh Kanagaraj (born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his film career with the 2016 anthology film called Aviyal, and his first feature film, Maanagaram, was a success. The Lokesh Cinematic Universe comprises of his films Kaithi (2019) and Vikram (2022).
Main article: Lokesh Cinematic Universe
In 2016, his short film Kaalam was included in the anthology film Aviyal produced by Karthick Subbaraj.[6] In 2017, he made his directorial feature debut with the action-thriller Maanagaram starring Sundeep Kishan, Sri, Regina Cassandra, Madhusudhan Rao, and Charle.[7] In late 2018, he began working on a film for Dream Warrior Pictures, the same production company behind Maanagaram.[8] With Karthi in the lead role, the action-thriller was titled Kaithi.[9]
He completed an action-thriller film Master which stars Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi.[10] Which was released on 13 January 2021, a day before the Pongal festival. It received positive reviews. It ran successfully in theatres.
In 2020, he announced his next directorial venture produced by and starring Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faasil. The title of the film was revealed in a teaser as Vikram on 7 November 2020.[11]
| Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maanagaram | 10th Vijay Awards | Best Debut Director | Won | [12] |
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| Kaithi | Zee Tamil Cine Awards | Favourite Director | Won | [13] |
| Master | Galatta Crown Awards | Favourite Director 2020-21 | Won |