Will Lokesh Bring Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan Together on Screen Again?

Though he has just six films to his name, they include hits like Kaithi, Master, Vikram and Leo, making director Lokesh Kanagaraj one of Tamil cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers. Now, on the heels of Coolie, reports from Kollywood say his next project could be his most ambitious yet.

Lokesh, or Loki as he is known to fans, may reunite superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan on screen for the first time in nearly five decades. Despite mixed reviews, Coolie makers Sun Pictures said the Rajinikanth starrer had collected over Rs 400 crore in just five days. This gives Lokesh the record of directing Tamil cinema's two highest opening day grossers — Leo and Coolie. According to informed sources, Lokesh’s new script is about two aging gangsters. The film is expected to be jointly produced by Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International and Sun Pictures. A meeting regarding the project was reportedly held recently. The superstars, who once acted in several films together, subsequently made a mutual decision to star individually. Their last film together was the 1985 Hindi Amitabh-Kamal starrer Geraftaar, where Rajini played a cameo role.

Rajinikanth himself fuelled speculation about the possibility of sharing the screen with Kamal Haasan at the Coolie audio launch, by hinting at his desire to work with his contemporary. He said, “When Lokesh told me another big star was doing a cameo, I immediately thought it was Kamal Haasan, and I was on Cloud Nine.” An official announcement, however, is pending. If the new film materializes, it could delay Lokesh’s planned Kaithi 2 with Karthi. He is also set to make his acting debut in a film by Arun Matheswaran and is co-writing and producing the LCU film Benz.