Lokesh Kanagaraj

Lokesh Kanagaraj was working at a bank when a short film he made for a corporate competition impressed its judge, Karthik Subbaraj, who urged him to direct. The Tamil filmmaker writes, directs and produces, and has lately begun acting too. He was born on 14 March 1986 in Kinathukadavu, Coimbatore district, studied fashion technology at PSG College of Arts and Science, and then completed an MBA. His short Acham Thavir (2012) won awards at a short film festival, and another short, Kalam, became part of the anthology Aviyal (2016). Maanagaram (2017) was his feature debut. Kaithi (2019), the action thriller starring Karthi, brought wider attention and set up what is known as the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. Master (2021), with Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, was the highest-grossing Indian film of its year, and Vikram (2022) with Kamal Haasan and Leo (2023) followed. Coolie, his first film with Rajinikanth, was released on 14 August 2025. He also runs the production company G Squad, launched in 2023 with Fight Club. He announced in January 2026 that he will direct Allu Arjun's 23rd film for Mythri Movie Makers. After many cameo appearances, he made his full acting debut as Devadas in the Tamil film DC (2026).