Lokesh Kanagaraj on 'Kaithi 2' Delays and Making A Cameo in Vijay's 'Jana Nayagan'

After months of speculation and delays, director Lokesh Kanagaraj has finally clarified the reasons for the delay of his film Kaithi 2, a sequel to his hit 2019 film starring Karthi. Lokesh was supposed to direct the sequel right after Rajinikanth’s Coolie. Opening up about the delay, speaking at a press conference in Chennai, the Tamil filmmaker said that work on Kaithi 2 would begin right after his film with Allu Arjun (tentatively titled AA23). He said that the film was first pushed when he took time off to work on a script that was meant to star both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. It was during this preparation period that the makers of Kaithi 2 and Karthi decided to give the dates that were allotted to Kaithi 2 to another director.

He also spoke at length about why his much-publicised film starring Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan did not materialise. He said he had taken close to 50 days to work on an action script for both of them, which would be produced by Raaj Kamal Films. It would also have been their reunion in a film after 36 years.

Lokesh went on to clarify that he had narrated the script to both the superstars. But the team could not come to an agreement because both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan had wanted to work on a script that was not fully action-based. This was because both their next projects, Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 and Kamal Haasan’s film with Anbariv, were predominantly action-based. Lokesh said he backed out of the project because he could not come up with a script that was not centred around action. 

Lokesh then cleared the air about news reports that suggested that he had unfollowed both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan following the shelving of his film with them. He said that he had been troubled by these reports and that even his mother had asked him why he had unfollowed such legends. He took the stage to repeat that such details needed to be cleared with his team before such reports were being written.

The director also said that he would be seen in a cameo in Vijay’s upcoming film Jana Nayagan. He is also making his full-fledged debut as a hero in Arun Matheswaran’s DC, which will release later this year.