Let me start with a bold statement: if you want to feel proud of Indian cinema right now, go and watch Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. This film fills me with genuine joy at the level of filmmaking on display.
Produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, Lokah is launching the Wayfarer Cinematic Universe — and I could not be more impressed with how they have done it. Start with the art direction. The film is set largely at night, and rather than letting that work against it, the team uses it brilliantly. Settings inspired by Bangalore come alive through intelligent use of neon, underbridges, subways, and gorgeous murals and graffiti as backdrop. Every night scene has real visual thought behind it. Nothing is accidental.
The cinematography extends that intelligence further. Fast cuts used with real precision — never chaotic, always purposeful. And here is what sets Lokah apart from most Indian superhero films: the CGI is used in deliberate, controlled amounts rather than thrown at the screen because the budget allowed for it. That restraint is a creative choice, and it is exactly the right one.
The writing from Dominic Arun and Santhy Balachandran keeps character at the absolute centre of everything. The action, the music, the world-building — none of it ever overwhelms the people you are meant to care about. Do not miss the opening credits either: as Chandra jumps from a window mid-action, the film transitions into a hand-sketched comic book animation setting up the Wayfarer universe, complete with hidden Easter eggs. It is a brilliant piece of filmmaking.
Kalyani Priyadarshan is Chandra, and she embodies the role completely. There is a ferociousness to her that you cannot predict — you never know when it is going to surface — and that unpredictability is genuinely thrilling to watch. Naslen is excellent in support, and the group of three friends provides the right amount of comic relief at exactly the right moments, never feeling forced or out of place.
The villain — Sandi playing Nachiapa — is one of the most unsettling screen presences I have seen in a while. His intensity is such that even when Chandra faces him, you are not entirely confident she can win. Your skin starts to crawl the moment he appears. That is what a great villain needs to do.
If you enjoy superhero films, mythology, fantasy done with craft and real intelligence — Lokah is all of that. Go watch it now. And if you want more in the same space, also check out Minnal Murli on Netflix and the supremely underrated Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. Both are exceptional.
