After Coolie, Lokesh Kanagaraj is currently concentrating on his upcoming film with Arun Matheswaran in which he will be making his acting debut. According to latest reports, Wamiqa Gabbi has been cast alongside the noted director as the female lead. However, an official confirmation is yet to arrive from the makers.

Touted to be a gangster action film in line with Arun Matheswaran's strength, the upcoming movie is expected to complete filming by early next year. For this film, Lokesh had reportedly undertaken training in martial arts in Thailand.

Known for her films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and a few Malayalam films, Wamiqa was last seen in Rajkummar Rao's Bhool Chuk Maaf. In Tamil, she has acted in Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (2016) and in an episode of Modern Love Chennai (2023).

A busy actor, Wamiqa has multiple projects in hand including Adivi Sesh's G2, Ayushmann Khurrana-Sara Ali Khan's Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, Akshay Kumar's Bhooth Bangla, Asif Ali's Tiki Taka and Ravi Mohan's Genie.

Reports indicate that Lokesh will wrap Arun's film before starting production on his next directorial venture, Kaithi 2, starring Karthi. Following Kaithi 2, Lokesh is set to collaborate with Aamir Khan on a superhero film.

Lokesh's recently helmed Coolie, headlined by Rajinikanth. The ensemble cast also featured Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan, Upendra, and Rachita Ram. Aamir Khan and Pooja Hegde starred in cameo roles. Arun Matheswaran's last film was Dhanush's Captain Miller (2024). He is also directing Ilaiyaraaja's biopic with Dhanush playing the eminent composer-singer.