Haven’t felt this excited about a film since ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’: Veteran actor heaps praise on ‘Lokah’

For filmmaker Dominic Arun, the journey since the release of Lokah: Chapter 1 Chandra has been nothing short of surreal. While praise has poured in from across the industry, one compliment has left him particularly happy.

“Actor Salim Kumar called me and said, ‘I don’t know what you’ve done in this film. But I don’t feel like leaving the world you’ve created. I just want to watch it again,’” Dominic shared in a recent conversation with Rekha Menon.

Adding to that emotional moment was actor Chandu Salimkumar, who also features in the film. “He told me that his father hadn’t been this excited about a film since ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’. That really made me happy,” Dominic recalled.

The director admits he’s still coming to terms with the film’s unexpected success. “We had no clue it would do this well. When I met Dulquer [Salmaan] yesterday, he asked how I was feeling. I said I didn’t know. He laughed and said he didn’t know how to process it either.”

Dominic, who has never witnessed a phenomenon of this magnitude before, says the reactions feel “alien” — yet grounding.

Reflecting on the storytelling choices in Lokah, he said, “Even though it’s Kalliyankattu Neeli’s story, we wanted to place her in a contemporary world. We also layered it with a feminist perspective, which Santhy Balachandran helped bring to life beautifully.”

The director also revealed subtle symbolic choices in character design — particularly in the naming of Chandra (Kalyani Priyadarshan) and Sunny (Naslen). “It’s a moon and sun pairing — even visually. If you notice, Naslen is often seen in yellow.”

Among his favourite moments in the film is a quiet, emotionally charged auto ride between Chandra and Sunny. “When people don’t speak much, there’s so much emotional depth. She looks at him for those extra seconds before replying — and that silence speaks volumes.”

Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra stars Kalyani Priyadarshan in the titular role alongside Naslen, Sandy, Arun Kurian, Chandu Salimkumar, Nishanth Sagar, Raghunath Paleri, Vijayaraghavan, Nithya Shri, and Sarath Sabha. The film also features special appearances by Tovino Thomas and Dulquer Salmaan, with Mammootty lending his voice to the character Moothon.