Thalapathy 67: 7 major revelations made by director Lokesh Kanagaraj on Vijay’s gangster thriller

Lokesh Kanagaraj, the young filmmaker established himself as one of the leading filmmakers of the South Indian film industry, with the massive success of Master and Vikram. The director, who is just four films old, has already established a cinematic universe in the Tamil film industry, which is now fondly called LCU aka Lokesh Cinematic Universe, by the cine-goers. Lokesh Kanagaraj is currently busy with the making of his highly anticipated fifth directorial venture, which features Thalapathy Vijay in the lead role. 

Recently in the Tamil Cinema Roundtable 2022 hosted by senior journalist Baradwaj Rangan for the Galatta Plus YouTube channel, director Lokesh Kanagaraj dropped some highly exciting details on Thalapathy 67. Here are the 7 major updates dropped by the young filmmaker. Have a look...

1. Thalapathy 67 to have an official launch in January

In the Tamil Cinema Roundtable hosted by Galatta Plus, Lokesh Kanagaraj finally confirmed that Thalapathy 67 is getting its official launch in January 2023. The big revelation was made by the filmmaker, after the host and other guests asked him to open up about his ambitious project. Lokesh, who was very particular about not revealing many details on the Thalapathy Vijay starrer, stated that he will speak about the gangster film once it gets an official launch. However, from the filmmaker's words, it is evident that the title of the film is already finalised. 

2. Thalapathy 67 is an LCU film

Yes, you read it right. In the Galatta Plus Tamil Roundtable, Lokesh Kanagaraj also hinted that Thalapathy 67 is also a part of LCU aka Lokesh Cinematic Universe, much like his three popular outings, Maanagaram, Kaithi, and Vikram. When he was asked about establishing a cinematic universe at the early stage of his career, Lokesh stated that it is equally exciting and frightening, as sometimes he gets confused about how to take it forward. Notably, he included his upcoming project aka Thalapathy 67 on his list of LCU films along with Kaithi 2, Vikram 2, and the Rolex spin-off.

3. Gautham Menon is a part of the Thalapathy 67 cast

Lokesh Kanagaraj finally confirmed that actor-filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon is roped in to play a pivotal role in Thalapathy 67. The talented director made the highly exciting revelation amidst a fun conversation when the Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu director requested his permission to open up about the Thalapathy Vijay starrer, and his role in the film. After Lokesh Kanagaraj asked him to go ahead and talk about their association, Gautham Menon said: "I am in his film. I saw him now and since he gave me his nod to divulge this, I’m confirming it here now."

4. Thalapathy 67 is a '100 percent' Lokesh Kanagaraj film

Interestingly, Lokesh Kanagaraj once again won hearts with his self-confidence when he said Thalapathy 67 is going to be '100 percent' his film, in the Galatta Plus Roundtable. For the uninitiated, earlier the filmmaker had admitted that he compromised on his signature style and tried to blend it with leading man Thalapathy Vijay's usual success formula (including songs and a dash of romance) when they worked together in Master. He even called it a 50-50 film, as it had the styles of both him and Vijay. But with Thalapathy 67, he is making the film entirely in his own style.

5. The Thalapathy Vijay starrer is not made with a 'time limit'

Interestingly, Lokesh revealed that he had great pressure while making Master, as he was given a 'time limit' for writing, shooting, and releasing the film. However, things are different for the talented filmmaker, when it comes to Thalapathy 67. He confirmed that the Thalapathy Vijay starrer is not being made with a 'time limit', and the team's only goal is to work hard for the film and deliver it in its complete glory. Lokesh feels that taking time for the scriptwriting and pre-production is going to help the film in a big way.

When the guests discussed the importance of film songs, Lokesh Kanagaraj admitted that it is extremely difficult for him to conceive and shoot song sequences in his films. But, the director confirmed that Thalapathy 67 will have a few songs, and they finished two of them already. Vishnu Edavan, who is the long-time assistant of Lokesh Kanagaraj has penned lyrics for the songs, which are composed by Anirudh Ravichander. For the unversed, both Anirudh and Vishnu have earlier collaborated with Lokesh for previous films, Master and Vikram. 

Lokesh Kanagaraj is self-admittedly very particular about writing the screenplay of his directorial ventures on his own. But, the filmmaker started co-writing the dialogues with his long-time friend and associate Rathna Kumar from Master, and they later teamed up again for Vikram. Rathna Kumar is very much a part of the Thalapathy 67 team, but both Lokesh and he wanted someone younger to join their team. So they have roped in Dheeraj Vaidhi, the young writer-filmmaker who directed the 2016 film Jil Jung Juk, to co-write the dialogues of Vijay's film.

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