PremiumKing of Kotha director Abhilash Joshiy says he’s a huge fan of Leo director Lokesh Kanagaraj
Director Abhilash Joshiy faced a flak from fans of Vijay and Kamal Haasan after his social media post was misinterpreted
Last Updated: 11.39 AM, Sep 21, 2023
King of Kotha director Abhilash Joshiy recently came under fire from fans of two Tamil superstars after he put up a social media post with pics from King of Kotha, Leo and Vikram, where its characters were smoking a cigarette, with the caption – “Lollipop”.
The filmmaker’s post was apparently aimed at a reviewer who had mentioned that Dulquer Salmaan’s smoking scenes in King of Kotha were akin to him sucking on a lollipop. However, fans of actors Vijay and Kamal Haasan were seemingly enraged by the posts, without quite getting the context.
While Abhilash had posted a photo of Kamal Haasan smoking a cigarette, Vijay’s fans attacked his film and called his action “immature”, even though he had only shared a pic of Arjun Sarja’s character from Leo – which has the Tamil superstar in the lead.
‘Huge fan of Lokesh Kanagaraj and Mani Ratnam’
In an earlier interview with OTTplay, Abhilash told us that he has always looked up to the work of director Lokesh Kanagaraj, who has helmed both Kamal Haasan’s Vikram and Thalapathy Vijay’s Leo, along with Tamil filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Karthik Subbaraj.
When asked about his influences, the filmmaker, who is also the son of veteran director Joshiy, told us, “I look up to a lot of directors, mostly outside Malayalam cinema. In Malayalam, I owe this film to my dad. I have worked with him and I have gained the most by working with him in terms of how he handles people. I don't think there are a lot of filmmakers from Kerala who have consistently worked with huge crowds for his films. Outside Kerala, I am a huge fan of Mani Ratnam sir, Lokesh Kanagaraj and Karthik Subbaraj. I have watched their films and so, there would be some influences here and there from those in King of Kotha too.”
King of Kotha OTT release date
Though King of Kotha didn’t quite reach the highs that were expected from a big-budget ‘mass’ action film, it did manage to gross over Rs 40 crore worldwide. The filmmaker, prior to the movie’s release, told us, “If big films work here, more big films will happen. I have always noticed people queuing for Tamil and Kannada movies like KGF. I have always wondered why. It’s because of the scale. People want that theatrical experience. In Malayalam, we might not have been able to provide that. So, why not attempt?”
King of Kotha is expected to be released on Disney+ Hotstar on September 28. It will be available to stream in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi too.