Does Lokesh Kanagaraj feel pressure to outshine Jailer box office success with Thalapathy Vijay starrer Leo? Filmmaker answers

Lokesh Kanagaraj's latest directorial venture Leo is all set to hit the screens on October 19. The film headlined by Thalapathy Vijay arrives in theaters on the heels of Rajinikanth starrer Jailer's massive success. Read on to know what Lokesh Kanagraj has to say about box office pressure ahead of Leo's release.

Hyderabad: Despite delivering a career-best hit for Kamal Haasan in the form of Vikram, filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj expressed indifference toward box office collections. The young filmmaker, who is gearing up for the release of Thapathy Vijay starrer Leo, is unfazed by the pressure to outshine Rajiniaknth's Jailer at the box office.

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In a recent interview, Lokesh stated that he doesn't concern himself with beating records like the current blockbuster, Jailer. Lokesh emphasized that the constant competition in the industry to outdo one another in box office numbers doesn't bother him.

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Lokesh shared a humorous conversation with the producer of his upcoming film, Leo, where they discussed the pressure to surpass Jailer's collection. Lokesh jokingly mentioned that he was even told he'd been gifted a helicopter in a meme. However, his primary concern is ensuring that the film's producer doesn't suffer financial losses.

The blockbuster success of Jailer apparently sparked rivalry between fans of Vijay and Rajinikanth, starting with Rajinikanth's speech at the Jailer audio launch, which was misconstrued as a dig at Vijay.

Leo, featuring Vijay, Trisha, Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Arjun, and Sanjay Dutt, is set to release in theaters on October 19. It marks the second collaboration between Vijay and Lokesh after their work on Master, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Meanwhile, chatter on social media suggests that Leo may be a remake of the Hollywood movie A History of Violence.

Coming up next for Lokesh is Rajinikanth's 171th film which is bankrolled by Sun Pictures. Earlier reports suggested that Rajinikanth himself had approached Lokesh and expressed his interest in collaborating with him. The 37-year-old filmmaker seemingly has his retirement plan ready, as far as directing films go. The Vikram helmer will be quitting direction after he delivers the tenth film which apparently is his project with Prabhas.

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