Lokesh Kanagaraj (; born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with Maanagaram (2017) and gained wider recognition with Kaithi (2019), which established the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. He subsequently directed Master (2021), Vikram (2022) and Leo (2023). After making numerous cameo appearances in films, Lokesh made his full-fledged acting debut with the Tamil film DC (2026).

Early and personal life Lokesh Kanagaraj was born on 14 March 1986 in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India to a Tamil family. In PSG College of Arts and Science, he majored in Fashion Technology before pursuing an MBA. He did his schooling in Vivek Vidhyalaya Matric Hr. Sec. School Kinathukadavu. He is an ex-bank employee. He pursued his passion towards film making by participating in a corporate short film competition. The judge of the competition was Karthik Subbaraj. Impressed with his short film, he encouraged Lokesh to pursue a directorial career making films.

Lokesh married his longtime partner Aishwarya on 8 January 2012. They have two daughters.

Career Lokesh made his directorial debut with the short film, Acham Thavir (2012), which won awards for Best Director, Best Film and Best Actor at the Clubace short film festival. In 2016, his short film Kalam was included in the anthology film Aviyal, produced by Karthik Subbaraj. He directed his first feature film, Maanagaram, in 2017, followed by the 2019 action thriller Kaithi produced by Dream Warrior Pictures, with Karthi in the lead role.

Lokesh's next film, Master, released in January 2021 and starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, received positive reviews and became the highest-grossing Indian film of that year.

In 2022, Lokesh directed Vikram, starring Kamal Haasan, Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil. The film's success, along with the establishment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), elevated his reputation in the industry, leading to another collaboration with Vijay on Leo (2023) served as the third installment in the LCU franchise.

In June 2023, Lokesh announced to conclude his directing career after completing 10 films. Later that year, in December, Lokesh announced a short film within the LCU, titled Chapter Zero, a prequel to Kaithi 2. Lokesh and Shruti Haasan came together for a musical project titled Inimel (2024).

Following the release of Leo, Lokesh announced he would be directing the 171st film of Rajinikanth, Coolie (2025), produced by Sun Pictures and with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander. It marked Lokesh's first collaboration with Rajinikanth and was conceived as a standalone film separate from the LCU. It released worldwide on 14 August 2025 to mixed reviews from both critics and audience alike, with significant box-office collections reported across India and overseas markets.

On 14 January 2026, coinciding with Sankranthi and Pongal, Lokesh announced he would be directing the 23rd film of Allu Arjun, produced by Mythri Movie Makers and with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander.

G Squad In November 2023, Lokesh launched his production company, G Squad, and unveiled his first production, Fight Club, directed by Vijay Kumar. On 14 April 2024 coinciding with Puthandu, Lokesh announced his production venture, Benz, directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan and starring Raghava Lawrence in the lead. He has also written the story for the film. On 30 October 2024, Benz was confirmed to be a part of the LCU. A few weeks later, Lokesh announced Mr Bhaarath, an upcoming Tamil-language romantic comedy, on 18 December 2024, to be produced under his G Squad banner. On 12 December 2025, Rathna Kumar's fourth directorial venture, 29, was announced as a co-production by Lokesh and Karthik Subbaraj under the banners G Squad and Stone Bench.

Filmmaking style

Lokesh's films are primarily in the action genre. He has likened himself to John Woo, who is also known mainly for directing such films. Despite this, Lokesh has expressed interest in exploring other genres such as fantasy and comedy. He has cited action films from the 1980s and 1990s as influences on his films, and has named Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino as some of his favourite directors due to their filmmaking styles. Rathna Kumar, who worked with Lokesh on Master, Vikram, and Leo, mentioned that his penchant for retro songs, violence, and hyperlink narratives in his films comes from his admiration for Tarantino. In response to criticism of his films for seemingly glorifying bloodshed and violence, Lokesh said that while he does try to romanticise violence, he has always had to tone down such sequences in his films to appeal to family audiences. He made an exception with Coolie, saying he made no compromises on the film's violent content, and it subsequently became his first film to receive an A (adults only) certificate. To make his stunt sequences believable, Lokesh avoids using ropes, and believes this limitation makes the sequences look brutal and raw.

Filmography Year Title Credited as Notes Director Producer Writer 2016 Aviyal Anthology film; Segment: Kalam 2017 Maanagaram 2019 Kaithi 2021 Master Cameo 2022 Vikram 2023 Michael Telugu film; presenter for the Tamil-dubbed version Leo Fight Club 2025Coolie 202629 Uncredited as screenplay writer

Acting credits Year Title Role Notes 2021Master Prisoner Cameo appearances2024 Singapore SaloonHimselfInimelMusic video co-starring Shruti Haasan, who also sang the song.2026KattalanLeo CabralCameo appearance; Malayalam filmJana Nayagan ReporterCameo appearanceDCDevadasDebut as a lead

Television Year Title Writer 2018Vella Raja

Recurring collaborations Editor Philomin Raj and art director Sathees Kumar have worked on all films. The duo Anbariv have worked on five films. Anirudh has worked on four films. Rathna Kumar, Arjun Das, Arun Alexander and Dheena have worked on three films. Only people who have worked in three or more films are listed. This list only concerns Lokesh Kanagaraj's directorial films. + List of Lokesh Kanagaraj recurring collaborations Film Philomin Raj Sathees Kumar Anbariv Arjun Das Arun Alexander Anirudh Ravichander Dheena Rathna KumarMaanagaram (2017) Kaithi (2019) Master (2021) Vikram (2022) Leo (2023) Coolie (2025)

Accolades + List of Lokesh Kanagaraj awards Ceremony Award Name Movie Status 10th Vijay Awards Best Debut Director Maanagaram Zee Cine Awards Tamil - 2020Favourite Director Kaithi10th South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Director – TamilMaster South Indian International Movie AwardsVikram

References

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