- Date of Release: 28 August 2025
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
- Language: Malayalam
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra
Introduction
The world created in the new Malayalam film Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra is a mix of a graphic novel and a gothic setting. In an opening transition scene, you see Chandra (Kalyani Priyadarshan) escaping after destroying her nemesis only for the screen to cut into a graphic novel title card with undertones of folklore and myth that kickstarts the proceedings. However, the setting drastically changes when the drama shifts to Bengaluru, a city drowned in darkness often illuminated by neon lights. It is almost an equivalent of the Gotham city from The Dark Knight (2008) that is home to a bunch of crimes, albeit intercut with streaks of neon lights that act as signs of hope. If it is anything to go by, the mystery is built around the character of Chandra who cautiously shifts to an apartment opposite Sunny (Naslen; also interesting that his name is an anti-thesis of the world setup), even as you are faintly acquainted with an organ trafficking crime transpiring in another scene. It is the representation of a world that is drowned in crine, with little hope that would erupt at an unexpected place for most folks.
Story & Screenplay
Despite the gothic setting, there is an air of groundedness as far as the character of Chandra is concerned. Let’s just say that Chandra isn’t normal, and there are enough instances to tell you this fact – be it the extravagent action set-piece to open the film, or even an isolated sequence involving her saving Sunny’s life from a fatal accident. The writers Dominic Arun and Santhy Balachandran are mindful of this fact, something that prompts them to create an anti-thesis of a superhero character. Unlike Superman wherein the viewers know that the concerned character is a superhero, the viewers are kept in the dark with respect to Chandra and her identity. But within that space, you see Chandra living a regular life – working at a bakery while explicitly opting for a night shift, and occassionally intruding on a crime against her peer. And yet there is something about Chandra that draws you to her.
There are significant themes of patriarchy infused in the narrative too with the introduction of the character of Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda (Sandy). When you get a first glimpse of the character, you see him almost intimidating a young woman even on the pretext of saving her from some goons in the middle of the night, that sets the tone of the character. His other traits include him resisting to pose a salute to his ‘female’ superior officer, or traumatizing his mother at home after his father has passed away. It remains implied that he probably gets much of his hate towards women as a generational trait – but the writing also makes it clear of him being the nemesis for Chandra, in a bid to preserve patriarchy (from Nachiyappa’s perspective).
There is a hint of a love story between Chandra and Sunny that plays out in the backdrop. A little inkling of the same is when Chandra usually donning shades of black is shown to be wearing white for the first and only time in the film, at a party wherein she is invited by Sunny. The latter continues to be a moderately awe-struck character, sensing of Chandra’s unusual behavior that also results in bouts of laughter. It is sharp and very specific, enough to create a ripple in the moment but not enough to deviate the plot from its original source material. And that does tell you a thing or two about the writing that peaks itself during its interval block wherein a parallel subplot plays out against a scene involving the kidnapping of Chandra, only for the truth to be revealed about her – in a mix of myth and folklore!
It is interesting how the writing continues to setup characters of the world – in the form of organic cameos that create a unique flavour in the drama, whilst never losing sight of the main plot thread. In fact, most cameos have a significant contributing factor either to the main plot or an initial setup of the universe – wherein you clearly sense that there is a lot of thought put into it, unlike say the Spy Universe or the Cop Universe that never had the vision initially only for the makers to later pivot towards it. And yet, there are enough twists and turns to keep one invested that includes a near-fatal end for the protagonist or the uncanny rise of the antagonist that essentially formulate the tropes of a superhero film. But even in this mix, there is a faintly tapped emotional core that finds it voice by the end of things – a rarity of films in the superhero genre that otherwise feel superficial and hollow. This, while setting up the context of the next ‘goblin’ chapter wonderfully well!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are understated in an attempt to be extremely grounded with its tonality. In fact, even the humour is sprinkled like salt in food, never overpowering the taste but doing enough to add flavour to it. The music and BGM by Jakes Bejoy is yet another winner wherein he understands his assignment to the T, while generating a score that is genuinely enthralling and something that elevates multiple action set-pieces, or alternately creating an air of mystery and intrigue. The cinematography by Nimish Ravi remains one of the highlights of the film – right from the choice of colour grading intercutting shades of grey and black with neon lights, or creating an ambience of a gothic setting with cuts of folklore and a graphic superhero novel. The VFX remains top drawer here – better than many films that boast of an enormous budget. And to think of it, the budget of this film is 30 crores! Mind – effing – Blown! The action set-pieces are stylized too, and really give you that high for most parts of the runtime. The stutter is just in the finale set-piece wherein the excessive use of slow-mos doesn’t do justice to the choreography.
The editing pattern by Chaman Chakko is exceptional, really creating an intrigue with the world building before intercutting the narrative with a folklore. The smart edits not only keep you engaged but also leave you awe-struck by the events unfolding in the film, thereby making it an astonishing watch. Director Dominic Arun does an exceptional job here – ably mixing style and substance to deliver a memorable superhero film. He takes his time with the world building and character exploration, while also creating a firm grip on the proceedings. As a result, you as a viewer are always intrigued with the world and curious about the characters that also are backed by a strong emotional core. The direction is excellent in every sense of the word while accounting for a great watch.
Performances
The performances are exceptional by the members of the cast. In order to avoid spoilers, I won’t be mentioning the names of the cameos here, but all of them leave a lasting impression – especially the ‘goblin’ and the ‘sword fighter’ 😉. Sarath Sabha as Murugesan is intimidating while playing a repelling character to perfection. Nithya Shri as Neeli’s mother and Shivajith Padmanabhan as Gajendra bring varied shades to the origin story in a rather competent manner. The veteran Vijayaraghavan as Daniel makes his presence felt. Sam Mohan as Johny has a stoic screen presence and accounts for a solid outing despite a limited screen time. Nishanth Sagar as Prakash has his moments to shine too.
Chandu Salimkumar as Venu and Arun Kurian as Naijel are exceptional performers who bring a lot of flavour to the proceedings with their impeccable sense of comic timing. Sandy as Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda is subtly intimidating and makes for a perfect nemesis to Chandra, while using his stoic expressions and body language to great effect. Naslen as Sunny is just like his name – vibrant with his character traits. This could so easily have been the character of a sidekick, but Naslen brings his own affable voice to the character, so much so that he has an identity of his own here. He is impressive even during silly moments of laughter, and he delivers a solid performance here.
Kalyani Priyadarshan has always been regarded as a pretty face but a genuinely knockout performance was still to be unleashed. But as Chandra, she really manages to hit it out of the park. There is a robotic mannerism of her character, almost being perceived as emotionless – only to subtly make a mark with untapped emotions at the end. And that could be termed as a subtle character arc too – in a performance wherein she excels in combat sequences. She is in top form here while maintaining the mystery around her character and landing perfect punches with respect to the beats of her character along the way!
Conclusion
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra is an Indian superhero film for the ages. Not only does it mark the first female superhero outing that is against the grain of setting up alpha-male superhero origin stories, but it also scores heavily with its technical aspects and exceptional execution that make the drama an absolute must watch. And all of it in a moderate budget of 30 crores – let that sink in! Available in a theatre near you and Highly Recommended!