Director Lokesh Kanagaraj is all set to helm the upcoming Allu Arjun film, tentatively titled AA23. Now, in a recent press interaction, the filmmaker revealed that he had initially planned to work with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan but eventually opted out of the project.

Lokesh Kanagaraj confirms opting out of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan starrer movie

Speaking to the media, Lokesh Kanagaraj said, “After the release of Coolie, Rajinikanth sir and Kamal Haasan sir asked me to do a film with them together. It was a huge opportunity for me, and even though I was considering Kaithi 2 as my next project, I sought permission from the Kaithi makers to postpone it so that I could work on this project.”

“I worked sincerely on the script for one and a half months, with both the actors being extremely excited about it. However, after having done back-to-back action movies, I realised that they wanted a light-hearted film, but I don’t know how to make one. I conveyed this honestly to them and stepped out of the project,” Lokesh added.

The Leo director further added that by then, Karthi had already allotted the Kaithi 2 dates to another filmmaker. Since Lokesh had been in talks with Mythri Movie Makers and Allu Arjun for years, the new project subsequently materialised, leading to the creation of AA23.

Speaking at the same event, Lokesh also clarified speculations surrounding the Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe (LCU) and its future. The director underlined that the cinematic universe will indeed continue and reaffirmed that he will be making films such as Kaithi 2, Vikram 2, and a standalone film for Rolex featuring Suriya.

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s work front

Lokesh Kanagaraj was last seen helming the Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie. The movie featured actors such as Nagarjuna Akkineni, Upendra Rao, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, and others in key roles, with a cameo appearance by Aamir Khan.

While the film received mixed responses from critics, it is believed to have been a successful venture at the box office. It is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Looking ahead, the filmmaker will next helm the actioner AA23 (LK07), starring Allu Arjun, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander.

Moreover, Lokesh is also set to make his debut as a lead actor in Arun Matheswaran’s gangster romantic actioner DC.

Malayalam film Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies is recording a good hold at the box office. After taking an opening of Rs. 3.75 crore, the sports action comedy drama slipped to Rs. 2.20 crore on Day 2, registering a drop of 40 percent. It further witnessed a muted growth and collected Rs. 2.50 crore on Day 3. Estimates suggest that the movie registered another spike on Day 4 (Sunday), adding Rs. 2.75 crore to the tally. 

This brings its extended opening weekend’s cume to Rs. 10.95 crore in its 4 days of theatrical run. Based on the current trends, Chatha Pacha is likely to see another spike on the Republic Day holiday on Monday. If it manages to put up a solid jump, it will bring its 5-day cume to somewhere around Rs. 13.50-14.50 crore gross in Kerala. 

Though these figures are fine, a better performance was expected considering its impressive opening day.  Starring Arjun Ashokan, Roshan Mathew, Vishak Nair, and Ishan Shoukath in lead roles, along with an ensemble cast that includes, Siddique, Milan Mathew, Lakshmi Menon, and others in supporting roles, Chatha Pacha opened to majorly positive word-of-mouth among the audience. If the movie keeps on gaining the traction on the weekdays too, it will put up a healthy total by the end of its first week. 

Box Office collection of Chatha Pacha in Kerala is as follows:

Besides the ensemble star cast, legendary actor Mammootty appeared in a guest role in the film. The Adhvaith Nayar directorial is currently dominating the Malayalam box office. Let’s see how far the movie can go from here on. 

Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates. 

Disclaimer: The box office figures are compiled from various sources and our research. The figures can be approximate, and Pinkvilla does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the films in question.