Aryatheautistic at 16:44, 7 February 2026

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{{Short description|Indian film director, producer and screenwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lokesh Kumar
| image = Lokesh Kumar Chennai 2017.jpg
| caption = Kumar in 2017
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1989|06|29}}
| birth_place = [[Chennai]], [[India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| othername =
| occupation = Film director, producer and screenwriter
| yearsactive = 2013–present
| spouse =
| website =
}}

'''Lokesh Kumar''' (born 29 June 1989) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is recognised for his [[Tamil language]] feature film ''[[My Son Is Gay]]''.<ref name="TimesofIndia">{{Cite news |date=2017-01-16 |title=A film on gay love in Tamil |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/A-film-on-gay-love-in-Tamil/articleshow/51122401.cms |access-date=2025-10-10 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref name="TelanganaToday">{{Cite news |title=Queer cheer: Tamil filmmaker wins big at film fest |url=https://telanganatoday.com/queer-cheer-tamil-filmmaker-wins-big-at-film-fest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703021418/https://telanganatoday.com/queer-cheer-tamil-filmmaker-wins-big-at-film-fest |archive-date=2020-07-03 |access-date=2025-10-10 |work=Telangana Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Life and career==
Lokesh Kumar was born on 29 June 1989 in [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]] ([[India]]).<ref name="BusinessStandard">[https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/chennai-is-still-close-minded-filmmaker-lokesh-interview-114041000355_1.html Chennai is still close-minded: Filmmaker Lokesh (Interview)], by: Indo-Asian News Service; in the [[Business Standard]]; published April 10, 2014; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="Gaylaxy">[http://www.gaylaxymag.com/articles/current-affairs/my-son-is-gay-how-a-bold-new-feature-is-taking-indian-queer-cinema-by-storm/ My Son is Gay: How A Bold New Feature Is Taking Indian Queer Cinema By Storm], by: Dhrubo Jyoti; in the [[Gaylaxy]]; published May 14, 2014; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref> He did his schooling in Kalashetra Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, [[Chennai]], after which he went to study Mechanical Engineering at S.A. Polytechnic College. After college he worked in the corporate sector for a few years. In 2013, he quit his corporate job and started making independent films.<ref name="Gaysi">[http://gaysifamily.com/2013/08/08/interview-film-maker-lokesh/ Interview : Film Maker, Lokesh], by: Queer Coolie; in the [[Gaysi]]; published August 8, 2013; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref> He made few experimental short films and by 2014, he decided to make an independent feature film which dealt with a teenage boy coming out to his mother, the film went through a lot of issues and delayed.<ref name="TheHindu">[https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/does-crowdfunding-work-in-the-tamil-film-and-theatre-space/article17417659.ece Do the crowds always give?], by: Subha J Rao; in ''[[The Hindu]]''; published March 6, 2017; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="DNA">[https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-a-look-at-my-son-is-gay-india-s-first-crowd-funded-lgbt-film-1989399 A look at 'My Son Is Gay' - India's first crowd-funded LGBT film] by: Yogesh Pawar; in the [[DNA (newspaper)]]; published May 18, 2014; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="TheIndianExpress">[https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/my-son-is-gay-makers-start-crowd-funding-campaign ‘My Son is Gay’ makers start crowd-funding campaign], by: Indo-Asian News Service; in the ''[[Indian Express]]''; published July 13, 2014; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref> By 2016, the film was fully completed with the help of an NRI producer Anil Saxena.<ref name="DeccanChronicle">[https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/131117/making-waves-internationally.html/ Making waves internationally], by: Balajee C R; in the ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]''; published November 13, 2017; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="Cinema Express">[https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2017/nov/19/i-dont-have-to-be-gay-to-direct-a-film-about-a-gay-man-3164.html ‘I don’t have to be gay to direct a film about a gay man’], by: S Subhakeerthana; in the [[Cinema Express]]; published November 19, 2017; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref> His film ''[[My Son Is Gay]]'' is the first Tamil feature film on gay relationship in the 100 years of Tamil Cinema existence.<ref name="MumbaiMirror">[https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/100-years-of-tamil-cinema-my-son-is-gay-kollywoods-first-gay-feature-film/articleshow/63884566.cms 100 years of Tamil Cinema: My Son is Gay, Kollywood’s first gay feature film], by: Vinay Arote; in the [[Mumbai Mirror]]; published April 23, 2018; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref> The film was screened in several international film festivals and earned him many awards.<ref name="TheNewsMinute">{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=T. N. M. |date=2018-03-21 |title='En Magan Magizhvan' wins Best Film at Indian World Film Festival |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/flix/en-magan-magizhvan-wins-best-film-indian-world-film-festival-78279 |access-date=2025-10-10 |website=The News Minute |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Huffpost">[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bollywood-lgbtq-characters_n_5b30f1f3e4b00295f15f1007 Bollywood Needs More LGBTQ Stories, Indian Movie Star Says], by: Umberto Bacchi; in the ''[[HuffPost]]''; published June 28, 2018; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="EdexLive">[https://www.edexlive.com/pride-unprejudice/2018/jun/30/seven-kickass-tamil-movies-that-normalise-lgbtqia-on-the-silver-screen-3319.html Seven kickass Tamil movies that normalise LGBTQIA+ on the silver screen], by: ArunKumar Shekhar; in ''[[The New Indian Express]]''; published June 30, 2018; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref><ref name="TheFederal">[https://thefederal.com/the-eighth-column/why-south-indian-films-cant-shake-off-the-queer-phobia/ Why south Indian films can’t shake off the queer phobia], by: Shruthi Joshua; in ''The Federal''; published August 5, 2019; retrieved July 1, 2020</ref>

==Filmography==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan=2 width="33"| Year
! rowspan=2| Title
! rowspan=2| Notes
|-

|-
| align="center" | 2013
| align="left"| ''You're My Brother''
| Short film
|-
| align="center" | 2013
| align="left"| ''Wait a Minute''
| Short film
|-
| align="center" | 2013
| align="left"| ''Judgement''
| Short film
|-
| align="center" | 2014
| align="left"| ''Acid''
| Short film
|-
| align="center" | 2015
| align="left"| ''Darkness''
| Short film
|-
| align="center" | 2017
| align="left"| ''[[My Son Is Gay]]''
| Winner—Best Film, Indian World Film Festival<br>Winner—Best Of Out & Loud, Pune International Queer Film Festival<br>Winner—Best Debut Director, Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival<br>Winner—Best Film, Jury Award, Jaffna International Cinema Festival
|-
| align="center" | 2023
| align="left"| ''[[N4 (film)|N4]]''
| Feature Film
|-
| align="center" | 2024
| align="left"| ''The Last One (film)''
| Feature Film (In Pre-production)
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|id=nm8928999}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokesh, Kumar}}

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:Indian film directors]]
[[Category:Indian film producers]]
[[Category:People from Chennai]]

Lokesh Kumar - Revision history

Aryatheautistic at 16:44, 7 February 2026