Lokesh Cinematic Universe

Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) is a shared universe of Indian Tamil-language action thriller films created by Lokesh Kanagaraj.[lower-alpha 1] The first feature of the universe Kaithi was released in 2019, while the second installment Vikram was released on 3 June 2022 and third installment Leo was released on 19 October 2023.[lower-alpha 2] The universe follows an elaborate conflict between law enforcement officers and vigilantes in South India who are at war against dangerous drug cartels led by powerful crime lords. It is currently the 4th highest grossing Tamil film franchise.[9]

Lokesh Cinematic Universe
Created byLokesh Kanagaraj
Original workKaithi (2019)
OwnerRaaj Kamal Films International
Dream Warrior Pictures
Seven Screen Studio
Years2019–present
Films and television
Film(s)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)
Miscellaneous
Budgetest. ₹395–₹445 crore (3 films)
Box officeest. ₹1065 crore (3 films)

Development

Lokesh Kanagaraj has stated that he wanted to do a shared universe of films since finishing his first feature film, Maanagaram. He stated that these kind of films have longevity. During the production of Kaithi, he had the idea and experimented with it, by having many open-ended plotlines in Kaithi, which he then incorporated in Vikram, by working together with Dream Warrior Pictures and Raaj Kamal Films International, Seven Screen Studio as they own the properties. He established a shared universe and has announced that more projects will be releasing in the future, that will be set in it. Though the name "Lokesh Cinematic Universe" was coined by fans, post the release of Vikram, he accepted it as the official name of the universe.[10][11][12][3] Narain and George Maryan are the only actors to have reprised their roles in multiple films in the universe in major capacities.[13][14] Karthi and Kamal Haasan have reprised their roles as Dilli (in Vikram) and Vikram (in Leo) respectively as voice-only cameo appearances.[15][14]

Films
Film Release date Director(s) Writer(s) Producer(s) Status
Kaithi
25 October 2019
Lokesh Kanagaraj
Lokesh Kanagaraj and Pon Parthiban
S. R. Prakashbabu, S. R. Prabhu and Thiruppur Vivek
Released
Vikram
3 June 2022
Lokesh Kanagaraj and Rathna Kumar
Kamal Haasan and R. Mahendran
Leo
19 October 2023
Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy
S. S. Lalit Kumar and Jagadish Palanisamy

Kaithi (2019)
Main article: Kaithi (2019 film)

Following a drug bust of 900 kgs of cocaine by a special team led by Inspector Bejoy, several cops are poisoned at a party by the gang attempting to recover the loot. With the assistance of an ex-convict named Dilli, Bejoy sets out to transport the poisoned cops to the hospital and foil the efforts of the gang in recovering the loot. Dilli is blackmailed into assisting Bejoy in exchange for meeting his daughter. The duo achieve their mission while evading the gang members headed by Anbu and Adaikalam chasing them.

The first installment of the LCU, it stars Karthi in the lead role, along with Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan and Dheena in pivotal roles.

Vikram (2022)
Main article: Vikram (2022 film)

Amar is a black ops agent who investigates murders committed by a masked group of vigilantes whose victims include narcotics ACP Prabhanjan and his seemingly harmless foster father Karnan, but a tangled maze of clues soon leads him to the drug kingpin named Sandhanam, who runs the biggest drug syndicate in Chennai. Eventually, it is revealed that Karnan is alive and is a former Black Ops Commander named Vikram. Vikram, Amar, and Bejoy join forces to destroy Sandhanam's syndicate.

The second installment in the LCU stars Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil with Kalidas Jayaram, Narain and Chemban Vinod Jose in supporting roles. Suriya made his first appearance in the LCU in a cameo role as Rolex. The film is a spiritual successor of Vikram (1986).[16][1][4][17]

Leo (2023)
Main article: Leo (2023 Indian film)

Parthiban alias Leo Das is a former gangster turned cafe owner who has to face his past enemies to protect his family. After eliminating his past enemies and destroying their Datura factory, Leo is invited by Agent Vikram to join his team in the war against drugs rampant in India.[lower-alpha 3]

The third installment in LCU stars Vijay in the title role, alongside Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priya Anand and Madonna Sebastian with George Maryan as Napoleon and a voice-over cameo by Kamal Haasan as Agent Vikram. It is based on 2005 film A History of Violence, which itself was an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name.

Kaithi 2 (TBA)

As implied at the end of Kaithi, Lokesh had planned for a sequel, which he confirmed after its release.[18] In an interview with Subha J Rao to Firstpost, Lokesh conveyed his interest in developing the film into a franchise, stating that he had an idea for both the prequel and the sequel, which depends on the recurring schedules of the cast members. In May 2021, the film's producer, S.R.Prabhu, confirmed the sequel was in the works.

Kaithi 2 is intended to be a prequel for Dilli, focusing on his character. Later, in an interaction with fans through Twitter, Lokesh explained about Anbu's return in Vikram as he was knocked out and not dead, though he had stitch marks in his jaw, due to the injuries.[19]

Following the success of Vikram, Lokesh planned to expand the scale of the sequel,[4] with S. R. Prabhu admitting that it would be bigger than the first film.[20] Production of the film was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022 but was delayed as Lokesh intended to resume the project after completing Leo and a standalone movie with Rajinikanth tentatively titled Thalaivar 171.[21]

Vikram 2 (TBA)

Owing to the film's success, Kamal Haasan in an interview with Pinkvilla, asserted the possibility of a sequel to Vikram, and there were also reports stating that there would be a third sequel to Vikram, which would be part of Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU).[22][23][24]

Leo 2 (TBA)

In early August, it was reported that the film would have a second part, making it Vijay's first time doing a sequel. The production is expected to start in 2025 after Lokesh completes his commitments towards Thalaivar 171, Kaithi 2 and Vikram 2.[25][26]

Rolex spin-off (TBA)

On August 13, 2023, at a public meeting, Suriya announced that the spin-off of Rolex character from Vikram is in development. It is expected to kick-start once director Lokesh Kanagaraj finishes Thalaivar 171, Kaithi 2, Vikram 2 and Leo 2.[27]

Recurring cast and characters
List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in Lokesh Cinematic Universe.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  C indicates a cameo role.
  •  M indicates an appearance in onscreen movie footage.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
  •  Y indicates a younger version of the character.
Characters Films
Kaithi (2019) Vikram (2022) Leo (2023)
Introduced in Kaithi (2019)
Dilli Karthi KarthiV Mentioned[lower-alpha 4]
Rolex Mentioned[lower-alpha 5] SuriyaC
Anbu Doss Arjun Das Arjun DasC
Inspector Bejoy Narain
Stephen Raj Hareesh Peradi Hareesh PeradiC
Adaikalam Harish Uthaman Harish UthamanC
Kamatchi Dheena DheenaC
Amudha Baby Monica Baby MonicaC
Napoleon George Maryan George Maryanm George Maryan
Introduced in Vikram (2022)
Commander Arun Kumar Vikram / Karnan Kamal Hassan Kamal HaasanV
Escort Maya S. Krishnan Maya S. KrishnanC
Agent Amar Fahadh Faasil
Sandhanam Vijay Sethupathi
Gayathri Amar Gayathrie Shankar
ACP Prabhanjan Kalidas Jayaram
Jose Chemban Vinod Jose
Cutting Plier Jaffer Sadiq
Agent Tina Vasanthi
Agent Lawrence Elango Kumaravel
Agent Uppiliappan Santhana Bharathi
Vikram Jr. Baby Darshan
Introduced in Leo (2023)
Leo Das / Parthiban "Parthi" Vijay
Antony Das Sanjay Dutt
Sathya Trisha
Harold Das Arjun Sarja
Elisa Das Madonna Sebastian
Joshy Andrews Gautham Vasudev Menon
Hridayaraj D'Souza Mansoor Ali Khan
Daniel Anurag Kashyap
Gabby Ramakrishnan

Reception

Box office performance

The Lokesh Cinematic Universe is currently the 4th highest grossing Tamil film franchise.

Film Release Budget Box office Ref(s)
Kaithi 25 October 2019 ₹25 crore ₹105 crore [28]
Vikram 3 June 2022 ₹120 crore ₹500 crore [29][30][31]
Leo 19 October 2023 ₹250-300 crore ₹482 crore [32]
Total ₹395-445 crore ₹ 1087 crore

Notes
  1. [1][2][3][4][5]
  2. [6][7][8]
  3. As seen at the end of Leo.
  4. In Leo, Dilli is mentioned by Napoleon during an interaction with Parthiban.
  5. At the start of Kaithi Inspector Bejoy, played by Narain, ask Ajaz Ahmad "Is there any information about the ghost?" In 2022, shortly before the release of Vikram, Lokesh Kangaraj reveals that the GHOST mentioned in Kaithi is Rolex, Suriya's character. Suriya didn't play the character in Kaithi, but it is off-screen present there.

References
  1. Thapa, Shaurya (11 July 2022). "Vikram's Lokesh Cinematic Universe and All Other MCUs of Indian Cinema". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  2. Athimuthu, Soundarya (14 June 2022). "What Is 'Vikram' Director Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Lokesh Cinematic Universe'?". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. "Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals the idea of a cinematic universe". The Times of India. 13 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  4. S, Srivatsan (3 June 2022). "'Vikram' movie review: Kamal Haasan steps back to watch Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi have fun in Lokesh Cinematic Universe". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. "A Ghost and a prisoner – One-stop shop for all things that might connect Kaithi and Vikram". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  6. Athimuthu, Soundarya (3 June 2022). "'Vikram' Review: Kamal, Fahadh & Vijay Sethupathi Shine in Lokesh's Universe". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  7. "Vikram sequel to connect to Kaithi; Director Lokesh Kanagaraj planning crime cinematic universe [Exclusive]". Bollywood Life. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  8. "Kamal Haasan confirms Lokesh Kanagaraj's cinematic universe while talking about 'Vikram'? – Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  9. "Vikram director Lokesh Kanagaraj is building his own cinematic universe". The Week. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  10. Krishna (9 June 2022). NELSON-ஐ திட்டுறது கஷ்டமா இருக்கு! – Lokesh Kanagaraj Post Release Interview Part-1 | Vikram (in Tamil). Cinema Vikatan. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  11. "Lokesh Kanagaraj spills a bean on the next film in his cinematic universe – 'Kaithi 2' confirmed!". IndiaGlitz. 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  12. Rangan, Baradwaj (10 June 2022). Lokesh kanagaraj Interview With Baradwaj Rangan (in Tamil). Galatta Plus. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  13. "Narain: Vikram's stellar response and box office numbers are new to me". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  14. "Is Vijay's Leo a part of Lokesh Kanagaraj's Cinematic Universe with Kamal Haasan, Suriya and Karthi? Here's everything you need to know". The Indian Express. 20 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  15. "Karthi gives the real reason why he did not act in Vikram and only gave voiceover". IndiaGlitz. 21 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  16. "Kamal Haasan's 'Vikram' shatters box-office records, check out his other hit films". WION. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  17. "5 reasons why you shouldn't miss Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Vikram'". DT next. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  18. "Lokesh Kanagaraj confirms 'Kaithi 2' with Karthi". The News Minute. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  19. "Anbu hasn't died, more details in Kaithi 2: Lokesh Kanagaraj in Q&A". DT Next. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  20. "கைதி 2 வேலைகள் எப்போது தொடக்கம்?... தயாரிப்பாளர் கொடுத்த அப்டேட்". Zee News (in Tamil). 12 June 2022. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  21. "Lokesh Kanagaraj confirms that work for 'Kaithi 2' will begin after 'Thalaivar 171'". Times of India. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  22. "EXCLUSIVE: Vikram 2 'already' on the cards? Kamal Haasan clears the air on the sequel". 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  23. "EXCLUSIVE: Vijay to play a gangster in his 40s in Lokesh Kanagaraj's next; Might enter LCU with Kamal Haasan". PINKVILLA. 18 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  24. "Kamal Haasan starrer Vikram to get two sequels?". Bollywood Hungama. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  25. Kota, Naresh (8 August 2023). "Thalapathy Vijay Leo could be releasing in two parts!". NTV. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  26. "Vijay starrer 'Leo' will have two parts; the superstar to do a sequel for the first time!". The Times of India. 9 August 2023. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  27. "Suriya reveals Lokesh Kanagaraj has plans for a standalone Rolex film". The Indian Express. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  28. "Bigil, Petta, Viswasam, Kanchana 3, Nerkonda Paarvai, Kaithi power Kollywood's theatrical takings in 2019 to Rs 1000 cr". Firstpost. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  29. "Vikram box office collection Day 27: Kamal Haasan's film refuses to slow down". India Today. 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023. Kamal Haasan's Vikram is showing no signs of slowing down at the box office. As of now, Vikram is marching towards Rs 500 crore at the worldwide box office.
  30. "வெற்றிகரமாக 75 நாட்களை நிறைவு செய்த விக்ரம்..! இதுவரை வசூல் செய்தது மட்டும் எத்தனை கோடி தெரியுமா?". Asianet News Network (in Tamil). 16 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022. இதுவரை 500 கோடி ரூபாய் வசூல் சாதனை செய்துள்ளதாக தகவல் வெளியாகியுள்ளது.
  31. "Kamal Haasan's Vikram finishes theatrical run as highest grossing film ever in Tamil Nadu, registers record footfall". Hindustan Times. 22 September 2022. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022. At the end of its theatrical run, the film registered a record footfall and grossed over ₹500 crore worldwide.
  32. "'Leo' box office collection day 7: Vijay's film smashes over Rs 500 crore". The Times of India. 26 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
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