Cast: Kalyani priyadarshan, Naslen, Sandy, Arun Kurian, Anna Ben, Toovino Thomas, Sunny Salmaan, Mammin Shair
Crew:
Written by Dominic Arun, Santhy Balachandran
Cinematography by Nimish Ravi
Production Design by Bangalan
Music by Jakes Bejoy
Editing by chaman chakko
Directed by Dominic Arun
Produced by Dulquer Salmaan
It is hard to find a solid woman-centric action entertainer in Indian Cinema on regular basis and that too, a superhuman film is non-existant. Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, is a daring first step in the monster Universe based on legends and beliefs of Kerala people. Dulquer Salmaan took a major risk as a producer to introduce this universe with such a different attempt. Let’s discuss about the film in detail.
Plot:
Chandra (Kalyani Priyadarshan) travels to Bengaluru and arranges for her new identity and documents. She works night shifts and closes windows with paper leaving no room for Sunlight to enter. Sunny (Naslen), a vegabond youngster, who lives with fit-for-nothing friends lives opposite to her flat. She instantly feels a connection with him. In the city, organic trafficking gang is on the move and the gang seems to have support of police, mainly, a Tamil – Kannada officier Nachiyappa Gowda (Sandy). He disrespects women and feels they are inferior to males.
One night, Chandra tries to hide her intention to attack a gang member who is torturing her co-worker. But as he takes out acid, she attacks him severely and her superhuman abilities are hinted at. On the other hand, Sunny gets infactuated with Chandra and she saves him from an accident. He starts to befriend her and gets suspicious about her real identity. One day, the organ trafficking gang attacks her and she reciprocates in her true self. Sunny witnesses this and she reveals to him that she is an Yakshi (Vampire). How will Sunny take this truth? What is Chandra’s purpose and what is their connection? Watch the movie to know more.
Analysis:
Kalyani Priyadarshan fits the character perfectly. She is agile, strong and convincing in action sequences. As a superhuman, she maintained a perfect body language throughout the film. Her performance is believable adding conviction to the proceedings. Naslen is good but he seems to be taking up similar roles. His performance is good. Sandy Master is also convincing as a villain and he seems to be a very good actor who is reluctant to take up more roles.
Dulquer Salmaan, Tovino Thomas in their cameos as Yama, Goblin are highly effective. Mammotty’s voice over for Moothon is also exciting. The film amazes with its production values and VFX work at such a low budget compared to big star Pan-India films. The inventive anime style introduction to the lore, giving a twist to established folklore and legends in Kerala, makes this a novel attempt. But the derivative screenplay of old films does hamper it slightly.
The meticulous detailing in production design, great detailing in execution, imaginative visuals and gorgeous, surreal set-up instinctively takes us into the world of Lokah. The writing in the first hour stands out as it keeps bringing some theatrical moment or the other into the narrative. The intrigue about the backstory of Chandra and the big lores that surround the characters, does flow through. But second hour seems to move nowhere with few set pieces already established in the screenplay.
While the cameos does add impact and excitement, more crisper version could have helped it much better. Several jokes also don’t land effectively. There is slight randomness in the screenplay in this hour which appears to drag on. But the action set pieces, choreography, visuals and the possiblity for the extended cinematic universe with major stars to take Lokah forward, make it a good watch. Lokah proves to everyone that budget doesn’t guarantee quality but conviction and imaginative vision does.
Bottomline:
A highly enjoyable superhuman universe for Indian Cinema.
Rating: 3/5
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this review are personal views/opinions shared by the writer and organisation does not hold a liability to them. Viewers’ discretion is advised before reacting to them.
