Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals why he dropped Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan film after 1.5 months of scripting; explains real reason for Kaithi 2, LCU delay

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Lokesh Kanagaraj on Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan films

Now, Lokesh Kanagaraj himself has stepped forward to dismiss all speculations and reveal the truth behind his exit from the Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan project. “I was in talks to do the film with Rajinikanth sir and Kamal Haasan sir. They both were quite eager to do a film together, and that was a very big opportunity to me, because that’d mean that they’re acting together after 46 years,” The Hindu quoted the director as saying.

Mentioning that he worked on a script for the movie for one and a half months, Lokesh added, “I wrote sincerely and gave my best to make a film starring both the legends. I narrated an action script, which they both were quite excited about. But then, both of them had been doing a lot of action films of late, and so, they wanted a light-hearted film. I cannot write that kind of film, and that’s why I backed out of that project.”

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Lokesh Kanagaraj to start Kaithi 2 after Allu Arjun project

Refuting allegations that the curtain has fallen on the LCU as well after he allegedly demanded a salary hike for the next instalment in the franchise, Lokesh maintained that he will begin work on Kaithi 2 once he wraps up his Allu Arjun project. “Because of the film with Rajini sir and Kamal sir, I had asked the production banner for some time. Later, when I exited that project, Karthi sir (Kaithi’s protagonist) had signed another director for his next film. So, I now had some time before Kaithi 2. Meanwhile, Mythri Movie Makers had given me an advance a few years ago, and I have always wanted to work with Allu Arjun sir. So that’s how AA23 started. But I can confidently say that my film after this will be Kaithi 2.”

He added, “LCU isn’t GSquad (his production banner) for me to close. In fact, the very name LCU is something the fans gave. So I can’t decide to shut it down. Be it Kaithi 2, Vikram 2 or Rolex, these are all my commitments, and I can’t shy away from them. LCU will be reopened immediately after the Allu Arjun sir film. Meanwhile, we have an LCU film, Benz, in production, which will come out soon.” Commenting on the Aamir Khan project, which has also been in discussion for quite some time now, Lokesh said that they have not reached a final decision yet due to other commitments.