Lokesh Kanagaraj on veracity of Leo box office figures: ‘Income Tax department must be watching. So, makers know what they are doing’

When asked if the audience should concern themselves with the box office collection of a film, the director said, “Whenever a film releases, only three sets of stakeholders should worry about the box office. One is the producer, the second is the distributors, and the third is the theatre owners. I don’t know why others discuss whether this film did this much or not. If a film from another language is coming out, like KGF or Pushpa, we don’t discuss numbers. Similarly, in Kerala, people are not discussing about Leo’s collection. They discuss the technical aspects and Vijay’s performance. I don’t know why we are fighting among ourselves over box office figures.”

He added, “To me, when it comes to cinema, the only number I think about it is how many times I have watched a film. I have seen Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu six times in theatre. I wonder if any other film has beaten that record. That’s the number I am bothered about.”

Leo successfully crossed the Rs 500-crore mark a few days ago, and the film is inching towards beating Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer’s collection. Meanwhile, Lokesh has started working on the pre-production of Rajinikanth’s Thalaivar 171. The film will go on floors in April 2024.

Lokesh Kanagaraj has Kaithi 2, Vikram 2, and a standalone Rolex film, which will be made after Thalaivar 171.