Among Kollywood young and happening directors, Lokesh Kanagaraj has an edge over his rival and director Nelson Dilipkumar in dishing out commercial entertainers. The former proved that he can rely on the dark and underbelly of the society and made hard-hitting films like ‘Kaithi’, ‘Master’ and ‘Vikram’ to stay ahead.
“Lokesh is far ahead of his rivals including Nelson since his movies are gripping and hard hitting and doesn’t give any scope for usual entertainment tropes. Despite working with big stars like Vijay, Kamal and Karti, he always ensured that they were no usual love tracks and also avoided clichéd comedy tracks to deliver cult kind of movies,” says noted Tamil producer Kaayar.
On the other hand, Nelson began his career with smaller films like ‘Kolamavu Kokkila’ and rose to fame with blockbuster ‘Doctor’ wherein he blended comedy and crime in equal measure for Sivakarthikeyan and proved his mettle. He followed it up with ‘Beast’ with superstar Vijay and drew flak despite drawing good collections at theatres.
“Beast had a mixed response from the beginning even though it drew big collections. Even some fans were disappointed with the over-to-the-top climax of the hero crossing the border in a fighter jet and bringing back the dreaded terrorist,” he added. Now, Nelson has returned with a resounding hit ‘Jailer’ and established his position in the big league of directors. "It is going to be one of the highest grossers in Tamil cinema," adds Kayaar.
However, Lokesh is getting ready with his next big budget flick 'Leo' with superstar Vijay and already expectations are rising among the fans and audience alike. "For now, Lokesh has an edge over Nelson since he got more big stars and big budgets," concludes Kayaar.
