Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra Review

Last year Telugu director Prasanth Varma released Hanuman, a superhero socio-fantasy mythological film that became a huge blockbuster. Now, with the aim of creating an indigenous cinematic universe rooted in local culture, folklore, and mythology, Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaan announced a Malayalam Superhero Cinematic Universe’, as a producer. The first instalment of this cinematic universe is titled ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’, featuring Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead role. After generating excitement among the audience with its trailer and promotional content, the film was released in theatres today. Did director Dominic Arun deliver a memorable superhero film? Did Kalyani Priyadarshan effectively portray the superhero role? Did the first chapter of Dulquer Salmaan’s ambitious cinematic universe live up to the hype? Has the Malayalam film industry once again produced a successful superhero film on a limited budget, following the success of Minnal Murali’ in 2021? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Chandra(Kalyani Priyadarshan), a blood-drinking mysterious woman with supernatural powers, moves to Bangalore from Sweden and starts working at a Cafe, only at night. Sunny(Naslen), an unemployed youth along with his two friends, Venu and Naijil, lives in a flat opposite to Chandra’s flat. Nachiyappa Gowda(Sandy), a police inspector and his boss, work closely with a human organ theft mafia team. What happens when Chandra and Nachiyappa cross paths with each other? How did Sunny’s infatuation with Chandra evolve? Did Chandra and Sunny relate in any way? Why did Chandra prefer to work only at night? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Makers of the film took a bold decision to start a superhero film franchise with a female lead character in a country where most of the film industries are driven by male superstars and Kalyani Priyadarshan did not waste the golden chance. She looked apt for the role and delivered a commendable performance. Her performance in the role of Chandra certainly stands as her best performance to date. Naslen is a show stealer. His performance in the role of Sunny is first-rate. His effortless comedy timing and charm are a treat to watch on screen.

Chandu Salimkumar as Venu is superb. He along with Naslen generated quite a few laughs throughout the film. Sandy in the role of Nachiyappa Gowda delivered a good performance. His performance in the role of a bad cop turned into a rogue vampire deserves a special mention. Tovino Thomas in an extended cameo did well but the writing for his character should have been better. Dulquer Salmaan and Mammootty made their presence felt with brief cameos. Both of them seem to have substantial roles in the upcoming films in the franchise. Soubin Shahir appeared in a blink-and-you-miss cameo and as expected, there was a loud cheer from the audience when he appeared on screen.

Technicalities:

There are no songs but Jakes Bejoy’s background score worked in favour of the film. His score elevated quite a few sequences very well. Nimish Ravi’s cinematography is first-rate. The way he captured Bangalore nights with his camera is appreciable. He delivered a very commendable output in giving a rich visual experience to the film. The art department and production design team did a very good job within the budget limitations. Production values by Dulquer’s Wayfarer Films are good. Let’s discuss the work of the director and writer, Dominic Arun, in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Organic Humour
2.⁠ ⁠Artists Performances
3.⁠ ⁠Background Score At Most Parts
4.⁠ ⁠Production Design
5.⁠ ⁠Attention To Detail In Writing

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠No Emotional Connect
2.⁠ ⁠Lack of Purpose To The Protagonist
3.⁠ ⁠Convenient Execution At Times

Analysis:

Mahabharata, Ramayana and many other epics, are historic events or just mythological stories? Depending on the belief system and thought process, a set of people believe the epics as historical events and another set of people believe them as mythology. Filmmakers across India made multiple movies rooted in our culture and folklore, and scored huge blockbusters in the past. The director, Dominic Arun, opened ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’, with the line, “All legends have an element of truth” and during a sequence in the second half, he asks the audience a question – Do you have any idea about how many so-called myths and legends are real?. Neither the script nor the director forcefully tried to convince the audience that the stories in our folklore are ‘history’ but not ‘Mythology’. Rather, he took an interesting point – ‘What if the legends in our folklore are still living among us?’ and narrated the point in a fairly engaging and entertaining manner.

Malayalam filmmakers usually stay away from high budgets but they focus on production design, cinematography and other technical aspects to give the film the required grandeur and visual impact. Although, Lokah, is a superhero film, the director did not use extensive visual effects. He used the real locations as much as possible and yet delivered a visually rich output. Even the backstory of the film was shot in real locations with very minimal visual effects. Kudos to the director, cinematographer and the art department for delivering such an impactful visual experience within the budget limitations. Many filmmakers in the past captured the beauty of Bangalore city so well but the way the city was shown in Lokah, stands at the top.

The first major positive of ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’, is its organic humour. More often than not, filmmakers with horror comedy films, opt for over-the-top forced comedy. But, with a similar setup(i.e. fantasy instead of horror), the screenplay writers, Dominic Arun and Santhy Balachandran, generated organic humour with genuine laugh-out moments. The comedy in at least five to six sequences worked big time in favour of the film. Especially, in the second half, the sequences involving Naslen, Chandu Salimkumar and Kalyani Priyadarshan, made the audience split into laughter. Another major highlight of the film is the way the cameos from multiple well-known actors, blended into the narration seamlessly. In an era where the biggest of the superstars are using cameos to give an adrenaline rush to the audience, it is refreshing to see a filmmaker using cameos only as per the demand of his script. The screenplay technique used for the pre-interval sequence deserves a special mention. The way Neeli and Chandra’s moment of outburst was shown using the back-and-forth technique elevated the pre-interval sequence very well.

The film has its share of flaws. A superhero movie truly succeeds when a strong emotional connection is established with the protagonist. Additionally, the protagonist should have a clear and compelling purpose. It seems the director used ‘Chapter 1’ primarily to introduce the characters, likely intending to develop the emotional connections in future films within the universe. One key expectation for a superhero in a film is that they serve as the ‘Saviour.’ However, in Lokah, the protagonist spends much of the time focused on saving herself from trouble rather than helping the people around her, except for a couple of moments. The subplot involving the ‘organ mafia’ had significant potential to deepen the emotional connection and elevate the protagonist, but the director did not utilise this subplot effectively. Tovino Thomas’ cameo was well integrated into the script, but the writing for his character could have been better. It was clear that the director aimed to generate humour through this character, but it did not quite land as intended.

Overall, Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra, is an entertaining film that is worth watching in theatres due to its intriguing backstory, technical excellence, and genuine laugh-out moments, particularly in the second half. However, with more attention given to the development of the protagonist’s character and its purpose, it could have become a truly memorable film. But yes, it is a fairly good start to the most ambitious superhero cinematic universe from Dulquer Salmaan and team.

Bottomline: Fairly Entertaining

Rating – 2.75/5