India, Jan. 26 -- Filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj has finally addressed the speculation surrounding his reported exit from Thalaivar 173, the highly anticipated project uniting Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Speaking at a recent press event in Chennai, Lokesh clarified that his decision to step away was not related to the reception of his previous work but was due to creative differences and a mismatch in genre expectations.

Lokesh revealed that he had spent over a month developing a script for the film, but discussions with the two senior actors led to a change in direction. "I worked on a script for 1.5 months," he said, adding that both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan wanted a lighter-toned film after a series of action-heavy projects. With Ra...