Lokah: Chapter One – Chandra, Malayalam cinema’s first female superhero film, has smashed expectations by crossing the ₹200 crore mark at the global box office. In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter’s Anupama Chopra, director Dominic Arun, lead actor Kalyani Priyadarshan, and producer Dulquer Salmaan reflected on the film’s incredible success and the new doors it has opened for the industry.

Dominic shared that while the team believed in their work, the scale of the film’s reception still took them by surprise. “We were confident that we had made a good film. But the kind of response we’ve received has been truly overwhelming. It took us a while to process — and honestly, we still are,” he said.

Kalyani described the experience as surreal, joking that there were moments when they wondered if it was just imposter syndrome playing tricks on them.

‘It’s a clutter-breaker’

For Dulquer, who produced the film under his banner Wayfarer Films, the response has been unprecedented. “None of my projects, whether as an actor or producer, have ever blown up like this. That’s what makes it so exciting. We even thought we might lose money on this one. But from Day 1, I was reading glowing reviews from across the country. That really speaks volumes about Malayalam cinema,” he said.

What attracted him most, he added, was the idea of a girl superhero. “It’s a true clutter breaker,” Dulquer noted.

‘I panicked and called Dulquer’

Kalyani opened up about the challenge of portraying Chandra, an emotionally detached character so different from her own personality. “I talk with my hands, blink way too much during conversations. Dominic told me — ‘I don’t want any of that.’ I felt so insecure in the beginning that I called Dulquer and said, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ He told me to trust the process, and that’s when I completely surrendered to Dominic’s vision.” Dominic explained that having lived with the character for years, he knew exactly how Chandra would walk, sleep, and even eat — and was therefore more exacting with her portrayal than with the other actors.

Though the film explores heavy themes of melancholy, Dominic emphasised the importance of entertainment and humor woven throughout. He credited actor Santhy Balachandran for bringing the feminist dimension to life, and pointed out that even the now-iconic white dress was inspired by the saree of a Yakshi from folklore. 

‘Don’t say that’

Looking ahead, Dominic revealed that the overarching storylines for future films are already mapped out, even if the screenplays are still in development. “We know how this is going to end. What we now have at hand are the origin stories of the other characters. I find this a very exciting time. I’ve been reading a lot of fan theories on YouTube — and most of them, I think, they’ve cracked a lot of stuff,” he laughed, prompting Kalyani to quickly interject, “Don’t say that!”