Lokah movie director Dominic Arun has opened up about the inspirations and creative decisions behind Lokah: Chapter 1 Chandra, a film that has resonated with audiences since its release, both for its mythic depth and its nostalgic references to Kerala folklore.

“I’m a big fan of Priyadarshan movies,” Dominic shared in a recent conversation with Rekha Menon. “We’ve very subtly referenced a bit of Priyadarshan here and there in the film. The opening sequence, where the lead characters live in adjacent flats, is a direct nod to the old Priyadarshan movie ‘Vandanam’”, he said.

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The film’s carefully crafted world has struck a deep emotional chord with viewers, and even those who worked on it.

Actor Salim Kumar called me and said, ‘I don’t feel like leaving that world, I just want to watch it again.’ Chandu even said his father hadn’t been this excited about a movie since ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’. That really made me happy,” Dominic recalled.

Even weeks after the release, Dominic and producer-actor Dulquer Salmaan are still absorbing the audience’s response.

“When I met Dulquer, he asked me how I was feeling. I said I didn’t know. He laughed and said he didn’t know how to process it either,” Dominic said with a smile.

At the heart of Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra is a reinvention of folklore.

“Though it is Kalliyankattu Neeli’s story, we wanted to place her in a contemporary setting,” Dominic explained. “We also brought in a feminist lens something Santhy Balachandran helped shape during the development process.”

The names of the lead characters — Chandra (played by Kalyani Priyadarshan) and Sunny (played by Naslen) — were also intentional, symbolising the cosmic pairing of moon and sun.

“It’s a sun-and-moon pairing, reflected visually throughout the film. If you notice, Naslen often appears in yellow,” the director pointed out.

By the end of its first week, ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’ had become only the 12th Malayalam film to join the ₹100 crore club, and the third fastest ever to do so, reaching the mark in just seven days. This also makes it the highest-grossing female-led South Indian film in history, a landmark moment for both Malayalam cinema and Kalyani Priyadarshan.

The ₹100 crore club now includes titles such as ‘Pulimurugan’ (2016), ‘Lucifer’ (2019), ‘2018’ (2023), ‘Manjummel Boys’ (2024), ‘Premalu’ (2024), ‘Aadujeevitham’ (2024), ‘Aavesham’ (2024), ‘ARM’ (2024), ‘Marco’ (2024), ‘Empuraan’ (2025), ‘Thudarum’ (2025) and now ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’.