Happy Birthday Lokesh Kanagaraj: Decoding The Secret Of Coolie Director's Success
Lokesh Kanagaraj has directed only five feature films so far, but he has already become the star filmmaker of Tamil. Here’s an attempt to decode why his films are consistent hits.
Lokesh Kanagaraj, a banker-turned-filmmaker, has become a highly influential Tamil mainstream filmmaker with just five consistent hits. He has become a role model for aspiring filmmakers and his films are the benchmark of success.
A film professor, who wanted to remain anonymous, claimed that his students are not bothered about world cinema, but are keen on decoding LCU. “They don’t want to work as an assistant director either. When asked they say: ‘Even Lokesh didn’t have to assist anyone’." While his tone was disappointed, Lokesh’s ascent is mythical, and no wonder he has cast a spell on fans and film aspirants.
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The director began his journey as a feature filmmaker with Maanagaram in 2017, and it didn’t even take a decade for him to become the director of Rajinikanth in Coolie, set to be released this summer. When the secret behind his success is probed, the immediate answer would be that he had the fast-mover advantage of universe-building in Tamil cinema. Fondly called Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Cinematic Universe aka LCU, his films (except Maanagaram and Master), have an overarching story like Marvel and DC film series. However, there is another common factor in all of Lokesh’s films, which plays an immense role in their success: Myth building.
“Once upon a time there was a ghost, and he isn’t a myth anymore," says Fahadh Faasil’s Anwar in Vikram, birthing an iconic moment that will go down in Tamil cinema history. There’s something innately heroic about a man with a past. That’s why it is scintillating when Alec Guinness says the cliche line in Star Wars: “Obi-Wan…now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time." That’s also the reason why Rajinikanth’s Baasha (1995) continues to be a classic. The mysterious myth about a hero adds a glamorous and macho layer to him that adds gravitas to everything he does. While such myth-building is the essential and obvious part of Vikram, almost all Lokesh Kanagaraj’s films have such elements–even Maanagaram and Master, which aren’t part of the LCU.
‘Mystery’ is a key ingredient in such myth-building, and one can note that even in Lokesh’s debut film Maanagaram. The character played by Sri in the film remains nameless till the end (though the screenplay book published by Lokesh revealed it to be Barani). The character, who hails from a village, reaches Chennai for a job interview. His past and life at home remain a mystery. Hence, when he turns heroic at the right moment, things work. We don’t wonder how he is hitting back because we can assume that he could have a history of violence. A nameless protagonist is a popular trope used across film industries as it makes the character relatable. He can be anyone you want him to be. Even in Master, Lokesh’s less violent film doesn’t divulge the history of JD. Lokesh even uses humour to cover up the mystery as JD comes up with stories of popular Tamil films to hide the reason for his alcohol addiction. There’s a hint that JD’s mentor’s terminal illness is the reason for his addiction, which is said to be a hint that the film is in the same universe as Kamal Haasan’s Nammavar (1994).
Kaithi is perhaps the best example of Lokesh’s fondness for myth-building. Dilli (Karthi) is perhaps the most mysterious character in LCU. Even Ghost aka Vikram’s past has been revealed, but the history of Dilli and how Adaikalam (Harish Uttaman) knows his name remains unsealed. “All you know is that I was in jail for ten years. You don’t know what I was doing before going in, right?" Dilli says right before unleashing his beast mode, and we can’t help but get goosebumps. The unresolved mystery could also be the reason why Kaithi is held as his best-to-date.
No wonder Lokesh Kanagaraj wanted to make Leo, which is based on David Cronernberg’s A History of Violence. History again! The director has a penchant for such characters, who have lived a different life. When we meet them for the first time in the film, they are just Manickam, Parthiban, Kaali, and Karnan. But when the time arises, their true nature is outed and the default setting gets restored. Heroism is not just the stuff of cinema. Even Mahabharatam has those mass moments, whenever Krishna reveals his Vishwaroopam. Once again, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth is proved. With the Coolie’s release on the horizon, let’s see what kind of myth Lokesh has cooked up for Rajinikanth, a mythical being real-life too.
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