Leo: Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals the truth behind Vijay starrer’s flashback scene

Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Leo - starring Vijay, Trisha, Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Sarja - has been a commercial success

Vijay and Lokesh on the set of Leo

Addressing speculations, Leo director Lokesh Kanagaraj has now confirmed that the flashback story in the Thalapathy Vijay-starrer is, in fact, not true. The movie, which hit the theatres on October 19, has broken all previous box office records in the Tamil film industry, becoming the highest-grossing Kollywood film of all time. The action thriller film - which also features Trisha, Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Sarja in pivotal roles - recently entered the ₹500 crore club.

Lokesh Kanagaraj addresses rumours about the ‘flashback scene’ in Leo

Despite its commercial success, Leo garnered mixed reviews from audiences, who were disappointed with the movie’s second half and the not-so-convincing flashback story. Some fans had defended the film by making new theories. However, Lokesh revealed in a recent interview with Cineulagam that the flashback story was indeed fabricated.

The flashback story in Leo, narrated by the character named Hridayaraj D’Souza (Mansoor Ali Khan) to forest ranger Joshy Andrews (Gautham Vasudev Menon), failed to amaze viewers. However, some viewers defended it, emphasising that the narrative never claimed that Hridayaraj was telling the truth.

During the interview, the director stated that Hridayaraj was, in fact, presenting a false story, and the actual flashback in Leo is something else. According to the filmmaker, the movie originally had a scene, in which Mansoor’s character warned Gautham’s character that he was about to narrate “his version” of Leo’s story. However, this sequence was removed during the editing process because the team believed that hinting that the flashback was fabricated just before it began might lessen its impact on the audience. Lokesh also confirmed that only Leo himself can accurately recount his own story.

Also read: Lokesh Kanagaraj-Prabhas movie on cards, confirms Leo director

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s next projects

The director will begin shooting for his upcoming film, tentatively titled Thalaivar 171, starring Rajinikanth. Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa recently revealed that the movie will be shot entirely on IMAX camera, and is set to involve high VFX.

Also read: Thalaivar 171 with Rajinikanth is an experimental film, reveals Lokesh Kanagaraj

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