Dismissing rumours that Coolie's divided response was the reason behind Lokesh Kanagaraj not being considered for helming Rajinikanth's 173rd film, bankrolled by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International, the director responded in a press meet held in Chennai on Monday.
Lokesh addressed the rumours, saying that he had worked for over a month for the project and it did not materialise for completely different reasons. "I worked on a script for 1.5 months. But Kamal sir and Rajini sir had different ideas. Both were part of back-to-back action films. Also, Rajini sir's immediate next is Jailer 2, an actioner. Kamal's next with Anbariv will also be high on action. So they were consciously looking to collaborate on a light hearted film. Such films aren't my cup of tea," he revealed.
Scorching another rumour, he went on to add that he requested the producer of Kaithi 2 to hold the project again as being a part of Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan collaboration after 46 years doesn't happen often. "This is the reason why Kaithi 2 was delayed and not because I sought a salary hike. When Kaithi 2 got delayed and I wasn't able to land Thalaivar 173, that was when I thought of completing a commitment I had with Mythri Movie Makers years ago. That's how my project with Allu Arjun sir took off," he shared.
Commenting on both him and his filmmaker friend Atlee working with Allu Arjun back-to-back, Lokesh said, "There is no competition between the both of us. The Tamil film industry is our foundation. We will make sure our respective works make the industry proud. As far as the collection-war is concerned, we'll be happy for each other's films succeeding at the box office."
Lokesh Kanagaraj's clarifications have effectively put an end to the controversies surrounding Coolie's result and the upcoming projects he has taken up.
Meanwhile, Thalaivar 173 will now be helmed by Don filmmaker Cibi Chakravarthi and produced by Kamal Haasan under his RKFI banner.
