Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) is an Indian

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

of action thriller films created by

Lokesh Kanagaraj Lokesh Kanagaraj (born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Tamil films. He started his careers with a short film in the 2016 anthology ''Aviyal (2016 film), Aviyal.'' He later directed his first feature film ' ...

. The first feature of the universe ''Kaithi'' was released in 2019 and the second installment ''Vikram'' was released on 3 June 2022. It is the third highest grossing Tamil film franchise.

Development

Lokesh Kanagaraj has stated that he wanted to do a shared universe of films since finishing his first feature film, ''

Maanagaram ''Maanagaram'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language hyperlink action thriller film that was written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, and produced by S. R. Prabhu. The film stars Sri, Sundeep Kishan, and Regina Cassandra, and its soundtrack ...

''. He explored has stated that these kind of films have longevity. During the production of ''

Kaithi Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...

'', he the idea and experimented with it, by having many open-ended plotlines in ''Kaithi'', which he then incorporated in '' Vikram'', by working together with

Dream Warrior Pictures Dream Warrior Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Chennai. It was founded in 2010 by brothers S R Prakashbabu and S R Prabhu, who were partners in Studio Green during 2010–2013. They are also relatives of the veteran acto ...

and

Raaj Kamal Films International Raaj Kamal Films International is an Indian film production and distribution company founded and headed by Kamal Haasan. ''Raja Paarvai'' (1981) was the first film to be produced by them under the banner "Haasan Brothers" before renaming it t ...

, as they own the properties. He established a shared universe and has announced that more projects will be releasing in the future, that will be set in it. Though the name "Lokesh Cinematic Universe" was coined by fans, he accepted it as official.

Narain Narayana (Also rendered Narayane, Narayanan, Narain, Narayankar or Narine) (from Sanskrit नारायण, ''nārāyaṇá'', literally "eternal man") is an Indian name. It is identical in form to the name of the deity Narayana, another name ...

is the only actor to have reprised his roles in both the films in the universe in a major role.

Films

Kaithi (2019)

The first installment of the LCU, it stars

Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. ...

in the lead role, along with

Arjun Das Arjun Das is an Indian actor who works in Tamil films. Best known for his role as ''Anbu'' in the film ''Kaithi'' (2019), he has garnered major attention for his bass-baritone voice. Arjun made his acting debut in the suspense thriller ''Peru ...

Harish Uthaman Harish Uthaman (born 5 April 1982) is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. He made his début portraying the lead role in '' Tha'' (2010), before playing villains in '' Gouravam'', ''Pandiya Naadu'', ''Mea ...

George Maryan George Maryan (born 23 March 1963) is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Sundar C and Priyada ...

and

Dheena ''Dheena'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Suresh Gopi, in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja ...

in pivotal roles. The story follows Dilli, an ex-convict, endeavors to meet his daughter for the first time after 10 years imprisonment. However, his attempts are interrupted due to a drug raid planned by

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Bejoy.

Vikram (2022)

The second installment in the LCU, it stars

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...

and

Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Natio ...

with

Kalidas Jayaram Kalidas Jayaram (born 16 December 1993) is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. The son of film actors Jayaram and Parvathy Jayaram, Parvathy, Kalidas made his debut in the Mal ...

and

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...

in a cameo role. The film is a

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...

of Vikram (1986). The story follows a

black ops A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...

squad led by Amar, who is assigned to track down a group of ruthless

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

. When Amar investigates the case, he realizes it is not what it seems to be and following down this path will lead to nothing, but war between everyone involved.

Cast and characters

*^m refers to the character being mentioned.

Reception

Box office performance

The Lokesh Cinematic Universe is one of the highest-grossing Tamil film franchises.

References

{{Lokesh Kanagaraj Action film franchises Continuity (fiction) Fictional universes Film series introduced in 2019 Indian film series Mass media franchises introduced in 2019 Shared universes