Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

I believe Lokah is one of the finest superhero films India has ever produced. What makes it far better than other massive-budget fantasy spectacles is that its magnificence extends beyond visual brilliance to include impeccable writing, offering an experience like never before. Instead of simply picking random characters and instances from Hindu mythological texts to capitalise on people’s blind belief in such stories — as most recent fantasy and superhero Indian movies have done — writer-director Dominic Arun anchors the story firmly in the rich tapestry of Kerala folklore. Yet, he doesn’t oversell it, nor does he establish a blunt divine connection to justify everything. Instead, he roots it in the familiar grounds of our socio-political history, masterfully incorporating a feminist angle too, while coating it in fantasy, thus giving the film a beating heart and a flickering mind.

For all its visual bravado, Lokah is not without shortcomings. The supposed mission that draws Chandra to Bengaluru is introduced with weight but then abandoned almost immediately, replaced by an organ trafficking subplot that feels far too ordinary for a film that opens with visions of fire, myth and apocalypse. In its latter portions, the film leans more on the mechanics of franchise-building than on telling a fully coherent story. The climactic stretch, after so much build-up, arrives in a rush, giving the impression that the narrative has been set aside to clear space for future instalments. What lingers is the sense of a work-in-progress, a world introduced but not yet realised in full. Even so, the experience is unforgettable.

For all its visual bravado, Lokah is not without shortcomings. The supposed mission that draws Chandra to Bengaluru is introduced with weight but then abandoned almost immediately, replaced by an organ trafficking subplot that feels far too ordinary for a film that opens with visions of fire, myth and apocalypse. In its latter portions, the film leans more on the mechanics of franchise-building than on telling a fully coherent story. The climactic stretch, after so much build-up, arrives in a rush, giving the impression that the narrative has been set aside to clear space for future instalments. What lingers is the sense of a work-in-progress, a world introduced but not yet realised in full.