It was a grand evening at the Galatta Nakshatra Awards 2023 held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on November 30 as several leading names from Tamil cinema and the entertainment industry graced the star-studded event. Among the big names who were honored was blockbuster Tamil filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj with the 'Game Changer of Indian Cinema - Direction' award, which he received from iconic actor-comedian 'Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu and Mr. Balaji, Managing Director, Salem Sri Ragavendra Jewellery. Vadivelu, who presented the 'Game Changer of Indian Cinema - Direction' award at the Galatta Nakshatra Awards 2023 showered his praise on the hotshot Tamil filmmaker and said, "Lokesh Kanagaraj is a Tamil cinema's boon. He's an exceptional director. He's a big thinker and someone who has found a place in everybody's hearts. Similar to Mari Selvaraj and many other directors, Lokesh Kanagaraj has at this young age and in such a short period become a successful filmmaker, and this is because of your blessings. I extend my heartfelt wishes to him. You've made me a big man by making me present this award to him. Thank you."
Expressing his joy at winning the 'Game Changer of Indian Cinema - Direction' award at the Galatta Nakshatra Awards 2023, Lokesh Kanagaraj said, "I feel happy meeting you all once again and being honored here. This is the first time I've seen Vadivelu sir in person and he called me after watching Vikram. I wasn't able to meet him at the time since he was busy shooting Maamannan. I feel extremely happy meeting Vadivelu sir here because everyone asks me about the pressure I face when I take up big projects. I tell them all that I watch the comedy clips from his films and that provides me relief from all the pressure. The meme culture began a decade ago and he has been the face of it since then. He's given content for the next hundred years and I want to extend my special thanks to you for that Vadivelu sir. Thank you for making us happy all the time."
The evening at the Galatta Nakshatra Awards 2023 had a big surprise in store for Lokesh Kanagaraj as a special photo frame with his picture was presented to him, with the filmmaker recreating the scene from his recent blockbuster, Leo, starring 'Thalapathy' Vijay. The hit Tamil director is seen smashing the glass pane on the photo frame, which reveals his photo and is a recreation of the interval scene in Leo, which had 'Action King' Arjun breaking the glass of a photo frame that goes on to show Vijay's picture. Lokesh Kanagaraj then goes on to say that it would have been nice if 'Thalapathy' Vijay's photo were there in the glass frame instead of his, leading to wild cheers across the entire stadium. He concluded his speech by once again expressing his gratefulness to have received his award from Vadivelu and also meet him.
Watch Lokesh Kanagaraj at the Galatta Nakshatra Awards 2023 in the video below:
