Lokah: 5 years, Rs 30 crore budget! Santhy Balachandran on crafting Kalyani Priyadarshan-led superhero film | Exclusive

Lokah: In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Santhy Balachandran spoke about the thorough preparation that went into the film, from the cast and crew, which helped them wrap up the shoot within a year.

Kalyani Priyadarshan in Lokah, Santhy Balachandran

Everything you see in Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra is intentional, says Santhy Balachandran, who co-wrote the Malayalam film along with director Dominic Arun and was a strong force in every department of filmmaking. So much effort and detailing have gone into each and every aspect to ensure that the Kalyani Priyadarshan-led film gave viewers a completely different cinematic experience, which the audiences are celebrating in the theatres, leading to phenomenal box office figures.

What is more amazing is that Lokah was made on a budget of Rs 30 crore, which may not account for much in major industries but is huge for Malayalam. The superhero film Lokah, the first of the five-part franchise, is backed by actor-producer Dulquer Salmaan. Lokah started the shoot during Onam of 2024 and was out in cinemas for the next year’s festival on August 28, 2025. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Santhy spoke about the thorough preparation that went into the film, both from the cast and crew, which helped them wrap up the shoot within a year.

Santhy Balachandran on Lokah

Tracing Lokah’s journey from the time of its conception, Santhy tells OTTplay that 2020-21 was the period when Dominic first pitched the original idea of the story. The project then evolved in scale and scope through discussions with the creative team, including Santhy, Nimish Ravi and Jitin Puthenchery (creative contributor). Dulquer Salmaan came on board as a producer in 2023, and after that, they spent a year on pre-production. Overall, it took 5 years.

“Everything in the film is intentional. That is the amount of time it took to build that world. We started shooting last Onam, but before that, there was a lot of work involved in fleshing out this world, the trajectory of this story, and the overarching narrative. Dominic and (cinematographer) Nimish Ravi, as collaborators, really enjoy pre-production. They work a lot to make sure that they are ready for whatever they are going to film. They had a Bible with all the scenes and how they would be shot. All of that really helped us,” explained Santhy, who herself is an actor and has been part of acclaimed films such as Jallikattu.

“We were working on a Rs 30 crore budget, which is large for Malayalam, but we had to achieve a lot within that amount. This is a film that is ambitious, because if you are introducing the audience to a world, the scale for it has to be pretty big. So every penny was used effectively, that’s why we spent a lot of time planning,” she added.

Also read: Lokah: Santhy Balachandran on why she was particular Kalyani Priyadarshan’s Neeli should not be transformed ‘by a male patriarchal religious figure’ | Exclusive

Not just the technical crew, the lead actor Kalyani Priyadarshan, who also had to ace action sequences as the superhero Chandra, came to the set fully prepped.

“Even Kalyani spent around 8 months training to get the physicality right for the character. We also had readings with the entire cast before we went on to shoot. Dominic gave Kalyani music that Chandra would listen to. So there is a lot that went into prep before the shoot, and that is why we could finish filming on time,” the writer recounted.

Also read: Lokah: Before Kalyani Priyadarshan-starrer, this Mammootty film subverted a legendary Malayalam lore

Yannick Ben handled the action choreography for the film, which is winning plaudits for the superhero world the makers created and the slick stunt sequences.

“Like these action sequences, you cannot just go there and figure it out on the set, you will lose a lot of time. Especially on a film set, time is money. The fact that we had such a committed set of people, whether cast or crew, who put in all the effort to make sure that the shoot progressed smoothly was just a blessing,” added Santhy, who made her acting debut with Dominic Arun’s Tharangam.

Santhy also gave a shoutout to Dulquer Salmaan, a huge star himself, for backing a woman-led project.

“The fact that Dulquer chose to produce this itself is a huge step forward. Like I said, Rs 30 crore is a small budget compared to other industries but for Malayalam, it is a big amount. Conventional wisdom would have it that investing Rs 30 crore in a woman-led story is a risky proposition but they believed in the vision so much that they chose to put their money into it and really helped us bring all the right people on board, so that we could craft it,” Santhy explained.

Lokah, which stars Kalyani Priyadarshan in the role of a mysterious woman named Chandra, also features Naslen as Sunny. Sandy Master appears as Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda, the main antagonist of the film, which features several star cameos.

FAQs

Q. Where can I watch Lokah Chapter 1?

A. You can watch Lokah Chapter 1 in theatres currently. The film will land on OTT after it completes its theatrical run. Though not officially confirmed, Lokah will reportedly land on Netflix.

Q. Who is the writer of Lokah Chapter 1?

A. Santhy Balachandran has co-written Lokah Chapter 1 Chandra with director Dominic Arun.

Q. Is Tovino Thomas in Lokah?

A. Yes, Tovino Thomas is in Lokah. He makes a cameo appearance as Chattan in the film.

Q. Is Lokah movie available in Hindi?

A. Yes, the Lokah movie is available in Hindi. The Malayalam film was dubbed in Hindi, along with Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

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