Spoilers ahead about Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

Lokah, Lokah, Lokah! It’s everywhere. What is it? A bird? A plane? Another name for Superman?

Dominic Arun’s Malayalam-language Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra is the first in a series of films about a league of superheroes protecting the world from evil. The word “lokah” itself means universe.

Produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, Chandra introduces viewers to the titular heroine, the young men who will become her allies, villains and other members of the league. The cast includes Kalyani Priyadarshan as Chandra and Naslen as Sunny, who falls for Chandra.

Arun Kurian and Chandu Salimkumar play Sunny’s friends. Sandy plays Nachiyappa, the venal police inspector who crosses paths with Chandra. Tovino Thomas, Dulquer Salmaan and Sunny Wayne play Chandra’s comrades.

Released on August 28 in Kerala and in other states with English subtitles, the supernatural fantasy adventure is already the rage. Chandra is being held up as only the latest example of Malayalam cinema’s knack for compelling stories with strongly etched characters and progressive values.

Dominic Arun wrote Lokah along with the actor Santhy Balachandran, who also appears in the film in a scene. The screenplay is faithful to genre conventions but also subversive, one of the reasons why Lokah is a smash hit.

Let’s take a look at the factors behind Lokah’s success and fame.

1 An independent and powerful heroine

Before the film’s release, Chandra was hyped as the first Malayali female superhero. Chandra relies on her gifts as well as her fighting skills, proving that she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

Sunny sheepishly tells Chandra that he thought he would be the one saving her from goons, only to see her dispatch them in no time. When Sunny learn about Chandra’s truth, he faints – another role reversal from such films in which men do the rescuing while women wilt from the pressure of protecting their virtue.

Chandra is also a loner. An enigmatic recent immigrant in Bengaluru, she dresses like a Goth, works only night shifts and shuns company.

Like the unnamed ghost in Amar Kaushik’s Stree (2018), Chandra initially comes off as an unattainable love interest for Sunny, alluring because little is known about her. The heroine of Lokah doesn’t just have a name but also a powerful back story.

2 A powerful origin story

The film’s subversion of genre expectations is hardly restricted to Chandra. Like several Indian films about superheroes, Lokah taps into local myths, monster lore and occult practices. What makes Lokah special is how the film’s writers update folk legends for Chandra’s origin story.

Chandra represents a bloodthirsty spirit whose ferocity is rooted in oppression and discrimination. Chandra uses her terrifying abilities for good – seen in the sequence when she shields a woman from an acid attack.

Her fellow travellers too are no longer fearsome monsters. Tovino Thomas’s Chathan isn’t a grotesque goblin but a camera-friendly, dandy magician. Salmaan plays the ninja­ Charlie.

3 Subversive politics

Chandra gets her powers because of mutations resulting from a yet-unexplained virus lurking in caves and forests. One of the film’s themes is the way in which divinity and nature combine to give some human beings enhanced abilities over others.

Chandra’s skills can be passed on only to “clean bodies”. The perverse Nachiyappa, a non-smoking, non-drinking vegetarian unwittingly gains these powers, unlike the frequently imbibing but good-hearted Sunny – a clever twist on restrictions on food habits.

The film has a clear understanding of who wields power in the human realm. Chandra is declared a public enemy, as are Sunny and his friends. A government team with a sinister agenda foists false cases on the trio of men.

The movie is firmly on the side of the joint-smoking, fun-loving youngsters, who are treated with suspicion by Nachiyappa and other cops. In a telling scene, Nachiyappa tries to plant evidence on Sunny’s friends. Nachiyappa is an open misogynist, further bolstering the movie’s feminist bent.

4 Universe-building done right

Chandra’s arrival in Bengaluru, her encounter with Sunny and his buddies, her confrontation with Nachiyappa and an organ trafficking network, the revelation of her true self – the classic set-up is straight out of a Hollywood superhero movie, but localised.

At key points in the narrative, Arun and co-writer Balachandran insert franchise-building elements, such as introductions to Chandra’s colleagues and their possible role in future productions. Apart from Santhy Balachandran, there are flashes of who else will be in the subsequent films, such as characters played by Soubin Shahir, Ahaana Krishna, Balu Varghese and Vijay Menon.

There are also two post-credit sequences, one of which is all the way at the end of the 149-minute film. Arun literally keeps a key character in cold storage, possibly to be revived in the future.

5 It’s immense fun

Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra sounds heavy-going, but it isn’t. Dominic Arun keeps his foot on the pedal, smoothly leaping from the present to flashbacks.

The film tailors its politically conscious ideas to suit millennial and Gen Z audiences. Sunny and his pals supply the laughs, with a fabulous Naslen nailing Sunny’s literally wide-eyed innocence and his puppy love for Chandra.

Sandy is memorable too as the horrid Nachiyappa. The cameos by Tovino Thomas and Dulquer Salmaan are electrifying, boosting the film’s entertaining value.

Lokah achieves its ambitious goals without relying too heavily on visual effects. The makers ride on the strength of the premise and fleshed-out characters to create a cinematic universe that has the potential to go far beyond this one film.

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