Director Lokesh Kanagaraj recently met Indian youth team kabaddi player Karthika and congratulated her for her team's recent win at the youth Asian Games in Bahrain. The Coolie filmmaker visited her house at Kannagi Nagar in Chennai and presented her with Rs 1 lakh cheque and wished her for more such successes.

Speaking to reporters after meeting her, Lokesh Kanagaraj said, ""I was both happy as well as proud seeing her achievements. Hence I came here to congratulate her. I have come to Kannagi Nagar often and I know the place well. I shot Maanagaram here and cast many actors from Kannagi Nagar in Master. We will support her and the team as much as possible so that it inspires more kabaddi players to win laurels," he said.

Recently, directors Mari Selvaraj and Pa Ranjith too visited her residence and praised her performance at the games. While Mari Selvaraj gifted her with a cheque of Rs 5 lakh each to Karthika and the Kannagi Nagar Kabaddi team, Pa Ranjith had appreciated her in person and gifted her books from his Neelam Publication. Ranjith was recently a producer on Bison Kaalamaadan a sports drama, directed by Mari Selvaraj with kabaddi at its centre. Dhruv Vikram too met Karthika and presented her with a gold coin.

The 17-year-old recently broke stereotypes and stigma, clinching gold at the Asian Youth Games, and becoming a symbol of hope for her community. Fondly called as ‘Karthika Express’ and 'Kannagi Nagar Karthika', she served as the vice-captain of the U-18 women's kabaddi team during the recent games where her team won against Iran. 

Lokesh Kanagaraj directed Coolie, starring Rajinikanth in lead along with Sathyaraj, Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Rachita Ram, Upendra Kanna Ravi and others in key roles. Aamir Khan and Pooja Hegde had cameo appearances in the action thriller. Up next, the director will be soon seen making his acting debut with Arun Matheswaran's next titled DC where he will be starring alongside Wamiqa Gabbi.