'Prepared to face huge loss when Lokah got ignored'; Producer Dulquer Salmaan opens up

MUMBAI: Lokah Chapter One: Chandra', written and directed by Dominic Arun and starring Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen, is still running in packed theatres despite crossing the second week of release. Now, producer Dulquer Salmaan talked more about the success of the film and what it means for him.

Dulquer Salmaan:

"This is our seventh production. We tried to play it safe. However, Lokah stunned us all. Even as an actor, none of my films created such a rave. Films have transcended demographics and become part of pop culture.

To be very honest, we were prepared to face a huge loss since it was an experimental film. Although we had faith in the film, we were not sure how it would perform financially. At one point, no one came to buy the film.

However, all our calculations ended up wrong. This is proof of the audience of newer times accepting new ways of storytelling. People saw the film on the first day itself, reviewed it, made reels, and it was amazing. Things changed overnight, and we were left puzzled.”

Lokah is the first film in the five-part superhero cinematic universe. The film, which opens up a magical world to the audience, is inspired by the story of the famous legend of Kerala, Kalliyankattu Neeli. The star cast also includes Chandu Salimkumar, Arun Kurian, Sarath Sabha, Nishant Sagar, and Vijayaraghavan.

Cinematography: Nimish Ravi, Music: Jakes Bejoy, Editor: Chaman Chacko, Additional Screenplay: Santhy Balachandran, Production Designer: Banglan, and distributed by Wayfarer Films.