TLDR: Lokah Chapter One: Chandra is a 2025 Malayalam fantasy action film directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan under Wayfarer Films. It stars Kalyani Priyadarshan as Chandra — a mysterious woman living in Bengaluru who is secretly Kalliyankattu Neeli, a mythical yakshi (vampire spirit) from Kerala folklore. The film became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, earning over ₹300 crore worldwide on a ₹30 crore budget. Mammootty voices the ancient protector Moothon. Dulquer Salmaan and Tovino Thomas appear in cameos that set up the Lokah Cinematic Universe. It holds a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Now streaming on JioHotstar from October 31, 2025.
Malayalam cinema has a specific talent for doing what the rest of Indian film industries attempt and failing — and getting it brilliantly right.
Minnal Murali (2021) proved that a Kerala superhero film could work on a genuinely modest budget. Lokah Chapter One: Chandra proved something even bigger: that the same ambition, applied to a female-led mythological universe rooted in Kerala folklore, could break every box office record the Malayalam industry had ever set.
I watched this film shortly after its JioHotstar release in late October 2025, and I have been thinking about it ever since.
It is not perfect. The second half meanders. Some of the world-building is slightly clunky. But what it gets right — especially in its central performance and its bold reimagining of Kerala folk mythology for a modern cinematic universe — is genuinely exciting. And Kalyani Priyadarshan is extraordinary.
Lokah Chapter One: Chandra — Movie Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Title | Lokah Chapter One: Chandra |
| Theatrical Release | August 28, 2025 |
| OTT Release | October 31, 2025 on JioHotstar |
| Director | Dominic Arun |
| Written by | Dominic Arun |
| Produced by | Dulquer Salmaan |
| Production | Wayfarer Films |
| Cinematography | Nimish Ravi |
| Editing | Chaman Chakko |
| Music | Jakes Bejoy |
| Runtime | 150 minutes |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Country | India |
| Budget | ₹30 crore |
| Worldwide Box Office | ₹302–304 crore (est.) |
| Achievement | Highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time |
What Is Lokah Chapter One: Chandra About?
Chandra Ananya (Kalyani Priyadarshan) arrives in Bengaluru from Sweden and moves into a modest apartment. She works night shifts at a café nearby. She is quiet, introverted, goth-influenced, and clearly carrying something heavy. Her neighbours — Sunny (Naslen) and his friends — become curious about the mysterious woman across the road.
Then Sunny catches a glimpse of Chandra in action and everything changes.
What looks at first like a straightforward female vigilante story gradually reveals itself as something much older and stranger. Chandra is not just a woman with unusual abilities. She is Kalliyankattu Neeli — one of the most famous yakshi figures in Kerala folklore. A mythical immortal vampire spirit whose purpose is tied to an ancient protector called Moothon (voiced by Mammootty).
The modern story in Bengaluru involves corrupt cop Nachiyappa (Sandy) and the organ trafficking ring he runs. It is the crime story that pulls Chandra out of hiding and sets her on a collision course with forces both human and supernatural.
As the film unfolds, the mythology deepens. The crime procedural surface falls away. And what emerges is something genuinely unlike anything else in Indian superhero cinema — a female-led, vampire-mythology action origin story grounded in Kerala’s own folk tradition, delivered with confidence and real emotional weight.
Full Cast Breakdown
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Kalyani Priyadarshan | Chandra Ananya / Kalliyankattu Neeli — the mythical yakshi, the film’s hero |
| Naslen K. Gafoor | Sunny — Chandra’s neighbour, audience surrogate, comic heart of the film |
| Sandy | Nachiyappa — the corrupt cop and organ trafficking villain |
| Chandu Salim Kumar | Key supporting role |
| Arun Kurian | Key supporting role |
| Vijayaraghavan | Supporting role |
| Sarath Saba | Supporting role |
| Mammootty | Moothon — the ancient protector (voice only) |
| Dulquer Salmaan | Charlie / Odiyan (cameo — sets up Lokah Cinematic Universe) |
| Tovino Thomas | Michael / Chaathan (cameo — central to Lokah Chapter 2) |
| Bibin Perumbily | Supporting role |
| Balu Varghese | Supporting role |
| Soubin Shahir | Supporting role |
| Anna Ben | Supporting role |
| Ahaana Krishna | Supporting role |
The cameo list is extraordinary. On top of Mammootty voicing Moothon, Dulquer Salmaan and Tovino Thomas appear in roles that expand the Lokah Cinematic Universe in ways that had cinemas erupting on opening weekend. Several other Malayalam industry names make brief appearances. The energy these cameos generated — even when some only lasted seconds — was a huge part of the theatrical experience.
The Concept Behind the Film — Vampirism as Virus, Mythology as Lore
Here is what makes Lokah genuinely different from most Indian superhero films.
The film does not treat vampirism through the lens of western Gothic or satanic tradition. Instead, it reframes it entirely through Kerala folk mythology — specifically through the figure of the yakshi. The yakshi is one of the most enduring figures in Kerala folklore: a supernatural female spirit, often depicted near pala trees, associated with both beauty and danger.
Lokah takes that tradition and asks a modern question: what if vampirism in this universe is a virus? A contagion that connects ancient mythological beings to a larger, secret world operating beneath modern life?
The answer is the Lokah Cinematic Universe — a world where Indian folk mythology from multiple traditions exists in parallel with the everyday reality of Bengaluru apartments and Bengaluru street crime. Chandra is just the first chapter. Chaathan (goblin mythology), Odiyan (Kerala shapeshifter mythology), and Moothon (an ancient protector figure) are all part of a larger cosmos that the film is building brick by brick.
That ambition — creating an indigenous Indian cinematic universe rooted in actual folk tradition rather than imported superhero templates — is what makes Lokah genuinely exciting as a project, whatever its narrative limitations in this first chapter.
Kalyani Priyadarshan — Worth Every Frame
The film rises or falls on whether Kalyani Priyadarshan can carry a female-led supernatural action film as its sole lead through 150 minutes. She can. Completely.
Gulf News described her as owning every frame — Converse-clad and channelling her inner Kristen Stewart with panache. That comparison is apt and affectionate. Chandra is quiet, controlled, emotionally guarded, and physically lethal. Kalyani plays that combination with a stillness that makes the action sequences hit harder when they come — because the contrast between her everyday quietness and her supernatural capability is so stark.
She also plays the film’s emotional depth well. Chandra is not just powerful. She is haunted. The film establishes a tragic dimension to her existence — the loneliness of an immortal being in a mortal world, the weight of a purpose she did not choose — and Kalyani makes that grief feel genuinely present in her quieter scenes.
The film is deliberate in how it breaks away from typical hyper-masculine, nationalistic superhero tropes. Chandra is powerful but deeply human. Her strength comes from her mythology, not from a lab accident or a billionaire’s technology. The Wire praised the film specifically for being mindful and deliberate about what it says — a refreshing characteristic in an era when Indian superhero films often default to nationalistic simplicity.
Naslen as Sunny — The Perfect Comic Anchor
Every great mystery-hero film needs a human audience surrogate. In Lokah, that is Sunny — Chandra’s slacker neighbour who becomes obsessed with figuring out who she is and what she is capable of.
Naslen is pitch-perfect in the role. He brings genuine comic timing, easy chemistry with the supporting cast, and enough warmth to make Sunny feel like a real person rather than a plot mechanism. His curiosity about Chandra gives the film its momentum in the early sections, and his reaction shots during her supernatural sequences are consistently the best comedy in the film.
The balance between Kalyani’s controlled, mysterious Chandra and Naslen’s chaotic, funny Sunny is one of the film’s best creative choices. They should not work as a duo. They absolutely do.
Sandy as the Villain — Menace Without Melodrama
Sandy — primarily known as a choreographer — plays Nachiyappa, the corrupt cop running the organ trafficking ring. The performance was widely praised for its restraint.
This is not a theatrical, monologuing villain. Nachiyappa is cold, systematic, and genuinely menacing in the way that actual dangerous people often are — through what he does not say and does not show rather than through explosive displays of cruelty. Sandy carries real menace in the role and it grounds the modern crime story in a way that connects credibly with the supernatural mythology around it.
The Cameos That Had Cinemas Exploding
I need to spend real time on this because the cameos in Lokah were not just promotional gimmicks. They were world-building choices that genuinely expand the universe.
Mammootty voices Moothon — the ancient protector to whom Chandra is bound. He is never seen. Only heard. But that voice, in those final sequences, adds a dimension of gravitas that is unmistakably Mammootty’s and completely irreplaceable. The choice to use only his voice — keeping Moothon unseen in Chapter One — is a masterfully restrained piece of franchise storytelling.
Dulquer Salmaan appears as Charlie, a ninja-like Odiyan — another figure from Kerala folk mythology associated with shapeshifting. His cameo is brief, stylish, and deliberately mysterious. He is the producer stepping into the world he built, and the fun of that moment in cinemas was reportedly extraordinary.
Tovino Thomas appears as Michael / Chaathan — a goblin figure who is explicitly the protagonist of Chapter Two. His cameo is the most plot-significant, revealing that Chaathan has hundreds of brothers, that he is being sought by a violent sibling, and that Moothon has a plan for him in the larger war to come. The September 2025 announcement video featuring Tovino and Dulquer together set off enormous excitement for Chapter Two.
The OTT Rejection Story — And What It Reveals
This behind-the-scenes detail is one of the most fascinating stories of 2025 South Indian cinema.
Before its theatrical release, Lokah could not find an OTT buyer. Dulquer Salmaan revealed publicly that despite the film’s ambitions — and despite Tovino Thomas’s involvement, which should have been a significant draw — no streaming platform wanted to acquire it.
They released it theatrically without an OTT safety net. And it went on to earn over ₹300 crore on a ₹30 crore budget, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time.
After that theatrical run, JioHotstar acquired the streaming rights — and the film began streaming on October 31, 2025. The contrast between “nobody wanted to buy it” and “highest-grossing Malayalam film ever” is one of those industry moments that should make streaming acquisition executives everywhere rethink their assumptions about regional-language content.
What the Critics Said
Lokah Chapter One: Chandra holds an impressive 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 6 critics, alongside a very strong Popcornmeter rating from 250+ verified audience ratings.
Gulf News called it a superhero saga done right — blending Indian folklore with Hollywood swagger and making you believe in the power of Malayalam cinema again. The Wire praised its mindfulness about what it says in an age when populist, regressive values are tempting shortcuts for filmmakers.
The more mixed responses noted the meandering second half and some clunky world-building. The Long Take Podcast called it overrated and cited an unnecessary Kantara-territory detour and inelegant pacing. These critiques are fair. The film does slow considerably in its middle sections as it builds its mythology before the third act payoff.
But the gap between the critical 95% and the audience’s enthusiastic ratings speaks for itself. This is a film that its target audience — fans of Malayalam cinema, mythology, and female-led superhero stories — absolutely loved.
You can check the full cast and production information on the IMDB page for Lokah Chapter One: Chandra.
The Music — Jakes Bejoy Delivers
Jakes Bejoy composed the full original soundtrack — a massive 54-track score running over an hour, released on September 16, 2025.
The vocal singles include “Thani Lokah Muraari” (released August 19), “Shoka Mookam” (September 3), and “Queen of the Night” (September 10). The score itself is rich and varied — moving between the atmospheric textures of the mythology sequences and the more propulsive energy of the action and crime elements.
For a ₹30 crore film, the sonic ambition of the score is remarkable. It sounds like it belongs to a universe ten times the budget.
How It Compares to Other South Indian Genre Films
2025 and 2026 have been strong years for South Indian mythology and superhero content. We covered Dacoit: A Love Story earlier in the year — Adivi Sesh’s passionate Telugu neo-Western with different ambitions but similar commitment to building a specific world. We also reviewed Biker (2026) — which introduced motocross to Telugu cinema with genuine craft.
Lokah sits in a different category from both of those. Its closest Indian comparison points are Minnal Murali (2021) for the feel-good Kerala superhero energy, and HanuMan (2024) in Telugu for the mythology-as-superhero-universe ambition. Among those, Lokah is the boldest conceptually — a female lead, a vampire mythology framework, a cinematic universe that draws on multiple Kerala folk traditions simultaneously.
For more Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi film reviews, keep visiting HDMovies4U — we cover every major South Indian and Bollywood release worth knowing about.
Where to Watch
Lokah Chapter One: Chandra is now streaming on JioHotstar from October 31, 2025. It is available in Malayalam with subtitle options. Given the film’s massive theatrical success and the OTT rejection story that preceded it, watching it now feels like catching up with one of the year’s most significant South Indian films.
What to Expect from Lokah Chapter Two
Chapter Two is in planning. Tovino Thomas’s Chaathan is confirmed as the lead. Dulquer Salmaan is expected to reprise Charlie. The September 2025 announcement video — featuring Tovino and Dulquer in a fun conversation about their characters — set the internet alight with excitement.
The mythology being built here — Chaathan’s 389 brothers, the violent sibling hunting him, Moothon orchestrating events across the Lokah universe — suggests Chapter Two will be bigger, louder, and more mythology-dense than what we saw in Chandra.
If Chapter One established that this universe works, Chapter Two will have to prove it can sustain.
My Final Verdict
Lokah Chapter One: Chandra is a genuinely significant film. Not just because of its box office records. Because of what it represents.
A ₹30 crore budget. A female lead in a superhero action film rooted in Kerala folk mythology. A Malayalam cinematic universe built from scratch by a first-time director and produced by a star betting his production banner on an unproven concept. No OTT buyer willing to take a risk on it. And then ₹302 crore at the box office.
The film itself has a slightly long second half and some world-building awkwardness. But Kalyani Priyadarshan is outstanding. The concept is genuinely original. The cameos are spectacular. And the ambition of what Dulquer Salmaan and Dominic Arun are trying to build here deserves enormous respect.
This is what South Indian cinema looks like when it stops trying to copy Hollywood and starts mining its own extraordinarily rich tradition.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. Bold, beautiful in parts, slightly rough in others — and one of the most exciting franchise launchpads in Indian cinema in years. Do not miss it.
