There are some movies which are best described as “one-time watches”. That Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra is not one of those films is already abundantly clear. At the end of seven days, the film has already breached the Rs.100 crore mark globally, setting new benchmarks at the box office. The film definitely warrants at least two trips to the cinema halls.
But, how many times is too many?
On my third watch, I was left feeling that the more you watch this movie in theatres, the better it is. The clues sprinkled across the film, particularly in the animations playing in the background of the opening credits, was enough to make it worth the effort for me. Because waiting for the OTT release and pausing the scenes is just not the same.
So, without further ado, here are some of the most intriguing details that caught my eye. Needless to say, there will be spoilers ahead.
But, we will start with a ‘bonus’ non-spoiler detail that does not have a bearing, or is at least highly unlikely to have a bearing, on the Lokah universe.
An innocuous Arsenal jersey
A scene in the movie shows Venu (Chandu Salimkumar) playing football wearing an Arsenal jersey. In the next scene, the character is seated at his balcony checking his phone. Next to him, the Arsenal jersey has been laid out on the parapet to dry. This does not have much to do with the plot of the movie. The character is largely inactive in both scenes. But, the fact that the jersey is visible in frame is a positive—it shows we can be optimistic about the attention to detail of director Dominic Arun and his team when it comes to the meatier parts of the story in the upcoming films.
There are plenty of other details, including the clothes of the characters, the social interaction of Chandra with the boys, who are her neighbours, flowers and animals. But, we will focus on those which are most likely to have a major impact on the story that will be told in the upcoming movies.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Locale of the opening scene
The opening scene of the movie shows Chandra in an urban battlefield. From her hiding spot, she speaks to her associate Prakash (Nishanth Sagar) who tells her that “Ishtar’s people” are closing in on her. He motivates her by saying she is like a daughter to their leader, Moothon, and tells her to escape with the precious cargo she has secured. This is followed by the illuminating opening-credits animation, but more on that later. The next scene shows Chandra arriving in Bengaluru.
On first watch, it seemed like she had escaped from the battlefield and reached Bengaluru. But, it is more likely that the battle shown is in the future. It was a random superhero intro shot as the superhero just runs away from a fight. Moreover, the setting is Michael’s health centre, shown later in the movie, or at least a place that is eerily similar to the clinic. So, if this is indeed a future battle, Chandra could have been on a mission to recover something important from the clinic, which seemed to have been a smaller base for Moothon’s associates in Bengaluru at some point, though it is in a sorry state by the time we see it in the first movie.
The vintage red telephones
In the opening scene, Chandra speaks to Prakash on a vintage red telephone. What’s more? Prakash is speaking on a similar phone from Moothon’s base. The Holy Grail Cafe also has a similar phone, using which Chandra speaks to Prakash in the second half of the movie. She also borrows a mobile phone from Sunny (Naslen) to look up a location, indicating that she does not possess a mobile phone. So, it is likely that these red phones are a system used by Moothon and his associates. Admittedly, this movie does not establish the presence of such a phone at the clinic, but if it was a minor base, it only seems logical that there would be one there.
A battle between gods?
Going back to the animation, as Chandra escapes the battlefield, a hooded-figure can be seen looking down at her. This figure is likely to be Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of love and war. And, from what can be gleaned from the first movie, she seems to be the primary antagonist of the Lokahverse. The animated visuals that follow show her story. It is a concept that has been explored earlier, like in Marvel’s Eternals (2021) and Thor (2011), and other works. Basically, aliens come to earth; primitive humans worship them. In this case, on an alien planet, a woman, probably Ishtar, despatches a lieutenant, Moothon, to earth. A Creation of Adam-like scene indicates what he is set to become on earth. But, as he spends his time helping humans, Ishtar is on her way. When she arrives with her forces, they subjugate earthlings. The oppressed turn to Moothon, who rebels against Ishtar.
Creation of metahumans
Following the image showing Moothon and Ishtar clashing, the music changes, as if to denote a time of relative calm. But, this is followed by people discovering a lady in a floating pod. This could be a beaten Ishtar. This is followed by an image of many similar-looking young children. This could be a vital point. In the end credits scene, Chathan (Tovino Thomas) reveals that he has 389 brothers who look just like him. Now, Malayalam folklore, or at least one version of the chathan lore, links the creation of the supernatural beings to Shiva. The story goes that there was originally one chathan, who then became 400. They fought and beat an asura, but lost 10 of their clan. The remaining 390 are still believed to be living among us.
But, whatever the most popular version of the lore is, it matters little. That much was made clear by the reveal of Chandra as Kalliyankattu Neeli. The makers have just taken that name and created their own lore around it by combining it with well known portrayal of vampires in pop culture. This suggests that the chathan lore will also get the same treatment. That is where the similar-looking young children mentioned above come into play. They were probably created by Ishtar after she resurfaced to terrorise the humans. They are then seen attacking humans across a significant timespan. And, an older version even looks like Tovino.
Ageing of metahumans
So, if chathans were once young boys, before become strapping Tovinos, and Neeli was a young girl when she was turned, before becoming an adult Kalyani, that means that at least these two classes of metahumans—chathans and yakshis—grow for a while after they are infected and then stop growing old, living as immortals, albeit with certain weakness.
Origin of Kalliyankattu Neeli
If Ishtar directly created chathans, she also had a role to play in the creation of Neeli. A young Neeli gets infected with the virus that turns her into the being that comes to be known as a yakshi when she is bitten by a bat inside a cave. That happens in front of a headless statue of Ishtar; this is clear from the symbol behind the statue: an eight-pointed star, the most famous symbol of the Mesopotamian goddess. But, Neeli got guidance from her dying mother soon after she got her powers. So, even though the virus from Ishtar is meant to make her an enemy of humans, she becomes only a vigilante.
Moothon takes action
Moothon is seen handing over his staff to Kadamattathu Kathanar (Sunny Wayne), who then proceeds to bring Neeli into the fold. He also tells her that he needs her help in taming two others, one being a chathan, as he is just a human. So, the legendary Kathanar is not shown to possess magical powers; his only advantage being his knowledge about alien science and his association with Moothon.
Sunny’s shooting skill
Before coming to what could be the most important detail, a quick detour to Sunny. His shooting skill that comes into play towards the end is explained earlier in the movie: while the friends are in a shooting range and Sunny is shown to be a good marksman. Now, this could be just a result of him spending a lot of time at shooting ranges. But, it is revealed, in the pre-interval animation and then confirmed later by Neeli, that Sunny looks just like her dead boyfriend, who was a soldier. So, if the makers go for a reincarnation angle, perhaps Sunny also inherited some abilities from his previous life. But, when metahuman powers are being explained as viruses, and other superhuman elements are being depicted as alien science, it seems unnecessary to bring in reincarnation.
Odiyan’s interesting past
The mid-credits scene introduces Dulquer Salmaan as a katana-wielding ninja. The end credits then confirm him to be Odiyan. The opening animation had shown a hunter with his face, who seemed to have gained powers and become a great warrior. In his early fights, he is also accompanied by a wolf, just as Odiyan in present-day is accompanied by a dog with a paw missing.
In Kerala folklore, odiyans are supposed to be shape-shifters and when they transform, they become imperfect animals, like the dog with the paw missing. But, here Dulquer’s Odiyan is shown in the same frame as the dog. So, perhaps, the Lokah iteration can both shape-shift when necessary as well as control animals while also fighting in their human body simultaneously.
Moreover, the origin of Odiyan’s powers seem to be different. As the hunter seems to have stumbled upon alien science in the jungle. He was also an adult at the time and seems to have aged in the later animations. So, if his power was not based on a virus similar to Chathan and Neeli’s, then a reincarnation plot is a possibility. Perhaps the current Odiyan was reborn with powers or maybe the hunter Dulquer was no odiyan, but just a warrior superpowered by alien science. In that case, if the ninja Odiyan is a character born later, then odiyan powers would also be similar to those of chathan and yakshi. But, then the ancient Dulquer’s story would have to be explained in detail.
That is the task before the makers now. To build on a good foundation. Despite the great response to Lokah, the fact is that it has not done much universe building yet. Indeed, the start was a cold open more than anything else. There are exciting pieces in place, the vision is evident, now it all needs to come together in the second part.
So, in a way, Lokah’s success has only increased pressure on the makers. However, they have proven themselves to be capable of pulling off a great cinematic universe. For a start, they actually have a plan in place, as opposed to just trying to cash in on a film that worked. This is the cinematic universe Indian cinema needs.