Telugu stars fascination with Lokesh Kanagaraj
It seems that Lokesh Kanagaraj is the flavor of the season. Telugu stars are keen to work with a Tamil director who is known for hits like 'Vikram' and 'Leo.’ Now even NTR is in talks to do a film with him, while Pawan Kalyan praised him. "He is the man of the season since he nicely makes star movies with novel content and treatment," says a source.
He claims that there dearth of star-centric movie makers in Tollywood so they are looking for directors from other languages. “Lokesh has delivered hits with superstars like Kamal Haasan, Vijay, and Karthi to become a sought-after-director in Kollywood. He will soon start working with Telugu superstars and it is just a matter of time,’ he points out.
Although he reportedly charges Rs 40 crore plus remuneration, Telugu producers wouldn’t mind paying him since a Telugu star would definitely give their dates. “Get Lokesh, we will give you dates" is the mood among A-listers in Telugu. They want to do action adventures and reach out to pan-India viewers and Lokesh is one of their favourite directors to expand their fan base,” he concludes.
In fact, Lokesh has become popular among Telugu viewers since his dubbed movies like 'Khadi', 'Vikram' and 'Leo' enthralled Telugu viewers and garnered good collections in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.