A couple of weeks ago, two tent-poles — one from Hindi, another from Tamil — arrived with much fanfare, but ended up colossal disappointments. They shared common problems found in most big-budget productions designed to cater to a 'pan-Indian' audience. Both Coolie and War 2 featured stars from different South Indian film industries. The Hindi release, on the other hand, featured: stunning locales, a story conflicted about whether it wants to be an action-packed espionage thriller, a gay romance, or Slumdog Millionaire; a bikini scene that looked out of place; bland action sequences that spat in the faces of physics, chemistry, mathematics — and, above all, the audience's time, effort, and money. Compared to the Tamil release, which at least had a few interesting aspects going for it, the Hindi entry was an abomination (relatively, the first War outing was immensely enjoyable).
Now here’s Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra, a Malayalam superhero fantasy with, as they say, "international level" spectacle rooted in legends familiar to Malayali audiences. Unlike the earlier examples, it has a beating heart. Like Minnal Murali and Ajayante Randam Moshanam before it, Lokah combines childhood stories with the right measure of self-awareness and humour. Be it laughs or action, Lokah doesn't overdo it; it knows when to do what. Sharp focus is one of its primary strengths.
Loyal fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will fondly remember that time in 2008, when they saw Robert Downey Jr show up as Iron Man for the first time. They'll also recall that the film took a minimalist approach to action. It took its time to establish its world and characters first. If we had to care about Iron Man, we first had to find Tony Stark endearing enough. Lokah, too, takes its own time to build up Chandra, the character with a mysterious past, played with suitable emotional finesse and agility by Kalyani Priyadarshan. (I cannot imagine anyone else as Chandra now.)
I also brought up Iron Man because, to me, it's the best example of a story-before-action superhero enterprise. We are introduced to her superpowers early on, in a sequence reminiscent of James Cameron's first two Terminator films. Her abilities are also demonstrated through some cathartic moments of vigilante justice.
But how did she get these powers? Writer-director Dominic Arun and co-writer Santhy Balachandran introduce Chandra's backstory through the best kind of buildup in recent mainstream cinema, usually reserved for male heroes, such as the one hyping Mohanlal's character in Lucifer. And it's also a relief to see the makers not resorting to the usual photography clichés to showcase Chandra's might.
Who knew that large crowds would gather for a Kalyani Priyadarshan movie the same way they would for a Mohanlal, Mammootty, or Fahadh Faasil movie? And let's remember that all the BIG, crowd-drawing cameos in Lokah are placed in such a way that their presence doesn't take the limelight away from Kalyani. This is HER moment.
I'm glad the makers of Lokah created something primarily to please their own audience, focusing on getting the basics right: Impress your audience first, and the rest will follow. In addition to its emotional resonance, it benefits from elements that could appeal to various age groups and demographics.
Simply put, Lokah has enough to appeal to fans of a Godha, Minnal Murali, Premalu, or Romancham/Aavesham. It demonstrated that good storytelling doesn't require someone to wear a bikini, expose their midriff (or get it pinched), do unnecessary item songs, or for men to take off their shirts and hang on to a drone to make a "grand" (ridiculous!) entry. Oh, and no Thekkeppattu Sundari Damodaran Pillais either.
I hope the makers of Lokah won't make the same mistake that Marvel — or any of the recent "pan-Indian" misfires — did going forward. I hope they create a cinematic universe that endures, without falling prey to unwarranted adulterations. I hope they create a cinematic universe that will have more people from all over the globe sit up and take notice.