Lokah on OTT: When AR Rahman-launched music video marked the beginning of a blockbuster collaboration | Exclusive
Lokah: The music video Oblivion, launched by AR Rahman, marked the first collaboration of Dominic Arun, Santhy, Nimish Ravi and Banglan, who went on to become the core team of the blockbuster film
Last Updated: 01.04 PM, Nov 03, 2025
Long before Lokah happened, Dominic Arun made his directorial debut with Tharangam, which incidentally also marked Santhy Balachandran’s first onscreen appearance as lead actress in 2017. Today, both are known as the writer-director and co-writer-dramaturg of the blockbuster Malayalam film. But did you know that the duo had also worked on a music video, Oblivion, which was launched by the legendary AR Rahman? And not just that, it also marked the first collaboration of Dominic Arun, Santhy, cinematographer Nimish Ravi and production designer Banglan, who went on to become the core team of Lokah Chapter 1 Chandra, scripting unprecedented success.
Lokah Chapter 1 Chandra
The music video Oblivion was launched in 2021 during Covid, its writer and executive producer Santhy Balachandran told OTTplay during a recent interview, tracing the journey and how it eventually led to Lokah.
“After Tharangam, we discovered that we enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other and we started writing together. We eventually worked on a few scripts together, some of which almost got made but were dropped at the last minute. It was during the pandemic that we made the experimental music video Oblivion with funds pooled from friends — our first to make it from paper to screen. So these 8 years we have had lots of ups and downs as collaborators.” remarked Santhy, who has acted in several noted films such as Jallikattu helmed by Lijo Jose Pellissery.
“We were fortunate that AR Rahman sir really liked Oblivion and launched it for us. That eventually became a catalyst of sorts. We had excellent collaborators in the technical department. Nimish, Dominic and Banglan — what they achieved in terms of visuals within our limited budget was quite amazing. It was a short piece of work that was easily accessible, so when we were pitching our projects including Lokah, we had an example in Oblivion of what we could achieve,” explained Santhy, who is credited as the co-writer and dramaturg in the Dulquer Salmaan-backed film.
Starring Kalyani Priyadarshan as Chandra, Lokah revolves around an enigmatic woman with superpowers. The movie, which reimagined the tale of Kaliyankattu Neeli - a vampire-like character from Malayalam folklore, is the first part in a five-part film series. Also starring Naslen, the Lokah beat the likes of Mohanlal's Empuraan to be the highest-grosser in Malayalam, and the first film to enter the Rs 300 crore club from Kerala.
FAQs
Q. Has Lokah released on OTT?
A. Lokah Chapter 1 Chandra, starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, released on JioHotstar via OTTplay Premium at 12 am on October 31.
Q. What is the box office collection of Lokah movie worldwide?
A. The box office collection of the Lokah movie worldwide is Rs 303.65 crore, as per trade tracker Sacnilk. It is the first Malayalam film to make Rs 300 crore.
Q. What is the story of Lokah?
A. The story of Lokah focuses on a mysterious woman named Chandra, who moves to the city, and gets entangled with an organ trafficking group. Three youths in the neighbourhood also take an interest in her and seek to know more about her, but are startled to realise that she, in fact, has superhuman powers.