Director Lokesh Kanagaraj is all set to direct the upcoming Allu Arjun film, tentatively titled AA23. Now, in a recent press interaction, the filmmaker revealed that he had initially planned to work with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, but ultimately backed out of the project.
Lokesh Kanagaraj confirms leaving Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan starrer
Speaking to the media, Lokesh Kanagaraj said, “After the release of Coolie, Rajinikanth sir and Kamal Haasan sir asked me to do a film with them. It was a big opportunity for me, and even though I was considering Kaithi 2 as my next project, I asked the Kaithi makers for permission to postpone it so that I could work on this project.”
Lokesh said, “I worked honestly on the script for one and a half months, both the actors were extremely excited about it. However, after doing back-to-back action films, I realized that they wanted a light-hearted film, but I didn’t know how to make it. I told them this honestly and walked out of the project.”
The Leo director further added that by then, Karthi had already allotted the dates of Kaithi 2 to another filmmaker. Since Lokesh had been in talks with Mythri Movie Makers and Allu Arjun for several years, the new project later materialized, leading to AA23.
Speaking at the same event, Lokesh also clarified the speculations about the Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe (LCU) and its future. The director underlined that the cinematic universe will indeed continue and confirmed that he will be making films like Kaithi 2, Vikram 2 and a standalone film for Rolex featuring Suriya.
Lokesh Kanagaraj’s work front
Lokesh Kanagaraj was last seen directing Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie. The film stars Nagarjuna Akkineni, Upendra Rao, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj and others in lead roles, with Aamir Khan playing a cameo role.
Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it is considered to be a successful venture at the box office. It is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Looking ahead, the filmmaker will next direct the actioner AA23 (LK07) starring Allu Arjun, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander.
Apart from this, Lokesh is also set to make his debut as a lead actor in Arun Matheswaran’s gangster romantic action film DC.
