Lokesh Kanagaraj has been in the firing line ever since his Vijay-starrer Leo happened. Prior to the release of that film, he had assured everyone that the film would be a '100 percent Lokesh film', hinting that the usual tropes seen in Vijay's mass masala flicks wouldn't be there. This statement in itself was a response to his statement during the pre-release days of the duo's previous venture Master.
Prior to Master's release in 2021, Kanagaraj had mentioned about how the film would be a '50-50' in terms of its content, which means that it would have a half of his storytelling nature and a half of Vijay's template of films as a mixture. While the first film's first half was praised unanimously, it's second half had a lot of criticism, which went under the carpet due to his '50-50' statement. So, when he said the '100 percent Lokesh film' statement for Leo, expectations soared to unprecedented levels. Which is why the criticism also came from all corners after the film released.
The flashback portions in Leo's second half, including the Naa Ready song, all seemed like deliberate inclusions to please Vijay's fans and this was a direct contradiction to Kanagaraj's pre-release statements. The director, though, once again tried another gaslighting approach after release and said that he felt burdened by the lack of prep time because the release date was locked well in advance. For his latest release, Coolie, he had mentioned that this wasn't the case, stating that everything including the release date was decided by him. Now that the Rajinikanth-starrer has released and not performed well despite a record-breaking start, what excuse does Kanagaraj have?
Well, it only keeps getting sillier. In a chat at the India Conclave 2025 in Coimbatore, Kanagaraj felt that Coolie was a victim of extremely high expectations despite his strongest efforts to keep a low-profile about it.
"I can't criticize audience expectations✌️. For #Coolie i didn't say it's timetravel/LCU, but audience expected that🤞. I'll never write stories for their expectations. If it meets the expectations then it's good, if not I'll try🤝"
— AmuthaBharathi (@CinemaWithAB) September 1, 2025
- #LokeshKanagaraj pic.twitter.com/lGWoDjXwz9
“Take Coolie, for instance. I never said it was a time-travel story or that it would be part of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). In fact, I didn’t even release a trailer," said Kanagaraj at the India Conclave.
"For 18 months, I kept everything under wraps. Yet, people will continue to have expectations. How can I stop that? Nevertheless, I can never write stories to meet their expectations. I will write a story, and if it clicks, that’s good. If not, I’ll try again."
Kanagaraj, however, wasn't criticising the audience for his film's underperformance but his statements also seemed like an attempt to free himself of the accountability. There has been a noticeable decline the screenplays of his recent films but instead of addressing those details, Kanagaraj's statements appear to be like beating around the bush.
“I never said anything. But it’s their (audience) excitement that brought me here. That’s the case not just for me, but for all stars and technicians. Without their enthusiasm, we couldn’t make movies. Hence, I can’t criticise audience expectations."
Coolie had a record-breaking start at the box office as it clocked the highest worldwide opening weekend in Kollywood history, overtaking Leo. However, after the extended weekend, the film showed big drops across all territories, erasing any chances of it becoming a blockbuster venture. The film did get past the worldwide gross of Rs.500 crores, but the high costs of the film mean that it will end as an average film in terms of box office verdict.
Kanagaraj's next film was slated to be the sequel to his 2019 blockbuster Kaithi but as recent reports have stated, he is likely to be helming a mega project starring Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan for the latter's Raaj Kamal Films.
