Maanagaram

Maanagaram is Lokesh Kanagaraj's feature directorial debut, made on a low budget and declared a box office hit. Critics praised it as an example of hyperlink cinema, telling the stories of strangers in Chennai connected by fate and violence from multiple perspectives. Kanagaraj has said he decided to develop the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, starting with Kaithi and continuing through Vikram and Leo, only after completing Maanagaram, meaning it isn't officially part of that universe but is the film that gave rise to it. Who it's for: anyone curious about the low budget debut of a director who would later build his own shared cinematic universe. Who it's not for: viewers expecting it to be an official part of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, since this was made before that universe existed as a standalone work.