A low-budget South Indian film has pulled off one of 2026's biggest box office surprises, and the twist is that its lead actor is a filmmaker making his very first appearance in front of the camera.
The director who turned hero
Lokesh Kanagaraj, the Tamil filmmaker behind blockbusters like Kaithi, Vikram and Leo, has stepped away from the director's chair to headline his acting debut in a film called DC. The moment it hit theatres, audiences responded to his new avatar with massive enthusiasm.
A dark, violent retelling of Devdas
Directed by Arun Matheswaran, DC reimagines the classic novel Devdas as a brutally dark, violent and modern crime drama. Lokesh Kanagaraj plays Das, a man regarded as the most feared and ruthless face of the Sarkar gang in the criminal underworld. Yet beneath the menace of this hardened gangster beats a heart capable of feeling, and that contradiction gives the story its emotional weight.
Das's turning point came in his teenage years, when his mother was brutally murdered. That trauma pushed him to take the law into his own hands and step into a life of crime. As adults, Das and his associates do not merely run a gang, they position themselves as a shield against a corrupt system and powerful people who prey on the weak. Their fight is not just about ruling the underworld, it is about winning justice for those the system has repeatedly crushed.
A girlfriend's murder changes everything
The story takes a decisive turn when Das's girlfriend Parvathy is killed by corrupt policemen. Consumed by vengeance after her death, Das unleashes a wave of bloody violence that dominates the film's second half. Through this dangerous journey, a character named Chandra joins him, steering the narrative toward its climax.
The cast and crew behind DC
Lokesh Kanagaraj's performance has drawn strong praise from both audiences and critics. Opposite him, Vamika Gabbi plays Chandra while Sanjana Krishnamurthy plays Parvathy. Thalaivasal Vijay and Avinash Raghudevan also appear in key roles. Produced under the Sun Pictures banner, the film's music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, whose score has been credited with amplifying the intensity of its action sequences. Social media conversations around the film have largely centred on its action set pieces, music and Lokesh Kanagaraj's screen presence, with many fans calling his acting debut as impressive as his work behind the camera.
Rs 25 crore budget, over Rs 100 crore in returns
DC was made on a modest budget of around Rs 25 crore. After its theatrical release, the A-rated action thriller earned more than four times its production cost. According to a Sacnilk report, the film collected a domestic gross of Rs 79.55 crore, while its worldwide gross climbed to Rs 102 crore.
That means roughly Rs 22.45 crore of its total collection came from overseas markets, showing that the film's appeal extended well beyond India to audiences in other countries that follow Tamil and Telugu cinema. With this performance, Lokesh Kanagaraj became the first debutant actor whose very first film as a lead crossed the Rs 100 crore mark.
Now streaming on OTT
After its strong theatrical run, DC has now made its way to streaming platforms. The film is available to watch on Sun NXT, currently in Tamil and Telugu.
