Plot
A young woman, Chandra, moves to Bengaluru and starts working at a café. Her neighbor Sunny, who lives opposite her new apartment across the street, notices her moving in. He is immediately attracted to her and gradually develops a crush.
Meanwhile, an organ-trafficking gang is active in the city, kidnapping people, harvesting their organs, and killing them afterward. Corrupt police officer Nachiyappa, along with other police officers and powerful politicians, provides protection to the gang.
One night at work, Chandra sees one of her colleagues being harassed by a man. She initially hesitates to intervene, but the man escalates the situation by threatening the woman with a bottle of acid if she does not reciprocate his romantic advances. Chandra steps in and subdues the man with little effort. The man is later revealed to be Sundar, a member of the organ-trafficking gang. He informs the incident to Nachiyappa, who promises revenge. Nachiyappa later identifies Chandra as the attacker.
Sunny later invites Chandra to his house for the birthday party of his friend Naijil, which she agrees to attend. At the party, Sunny and Naijil attempt to flirt with her, but Chandra shows no interest. After the party, while Chandra is heading home, Naijil follows her and continues trying to flirt. He does not return home that night.
The next morning, Sunny and his friend Venu are unable to locate Naijil. His phone is switched off, leading them to assume he may have spent the night in Chandra’s apartment. Sunny goes to Chandra's house to find Naijil, but she denies knowing Naijil’s whereabouts. Sunny then notices bloodstains on Chandra’s shoes, triggering a disturbing suspicion: that Chandra might be connected to the organ-trafficking gang and may have killed Naijil.
Later that night, as Chandra heads to work, Sunny secretly follows her to confirm his suspicion. While Sunny is away, Naijil returns, revealing he spent the night in police custody due to misunderstanding. His "disappearance" has nothing to do with Chandra. On the way, Chandra is ambushed by members of the organ-trafficking gang, who inject her with a sedative and kidnap her. Sunny witnesses the abduction and follows the gang in an attempt to save her. The gang later abandons Chandra in a remote area and attempts to kill her. However, she awakens in time and brutally attacks them using what appears to be supernatural abilities: flash-like speed, unnatural strength, and the ability to leap onto and down from multi-floor buildings. Most shockingly, she reveals wolf-like fangs and kills the gang members by biting them.
Afterward, Chandra confesses to Sunny—who has witnessed her supernatural powers—that she is actually a Yakshi named Neeli, a vampire-like supernatural being from the ancient legend Kalliyankattu Neeli:
Thousands of years ago, a little tribal girl named Neeli lived in a village that was destroyed by a king enforcing caste segregation. After being bitten by a bat, she developed supernatural abilities. When the king’s men murdered her parents, Neeli slaughtered them in revenge and became both a guardian spirit for the oppressed and a nightmare for wrongdoers. Exorcist Kadamattathu Kathanar later deceived villagers by claiming to have exorcized her, but in reality, he secretly recruited her into a group of other Yakshis to combat evil in the world.
Neeli became immortal and has lived for thousands of years, frequently changing her identity and place of residence to avoid suspicion. Chandra is her current assumed identity. Despite her immortality, she has two critical weaknesses: sunlight and a direct attack to the heart. This explains why she works night shifts and has sealed all the windows in her apartment.
The killings of the gang members soon come to the attention of the police. Nachiyappa is assigned to handle the case and begins suspecting Chandra and Sunny’s involvement. One day, while Chandra is out with Sunny, Nachiyappa secretly breaks into her apartment to investigate. There, he discovers weapons, multiple fake identity documents, and evidence linking Chandra to the killings. Chandra and Sunny return unexpectedly, leading to a violent confrontation. Nachiyappa is unable to harm Chandra due to her supernatural nature, but he shoots Sunny. Chandra bites Nachiyappa before he manages to escape.
Nachiyappa later frames Chandra and Sunny as armed terrorists, prompting the government to deploy anti-terrorism squads to capture them. Chandra, Venu, and Naijil take the wounded Sunny to an abandoned clinic owned by Michael, a Yakshi ally of Chandra. The police track them down and attempt to arrest them, but Michael and Chandra overpower the officers. They then relocate to the café where Chandra worked, which is revealed to be a secret hideout for her Yakshi group.
Meanwhile, Nachiyappa begins transforming into a Yakshi due to Chandra’s bite. As a newly turned Yakshi, his powers exceed those of Chandra and the others.
The government eventually learns of their location and sends anti-terrorism squads to raid the café. Chandra once again overpowers the human forces. Nachiyappa, now fully aware of his transformation and consumed by a god complex, arrives to attack her. A fierce battle ensues, during which Chandra struggles against his superior strength. Nachiyappa demands to meet her leader, intending to seize control of the entire Yakshi world. During the fight, Venu is seriously injured, but with the combined efforts of Sunny and Naijil, Chandra manages to defeat Nachiyappa by striking his heart—his fatal weak point.
Chandra escapes with her Yakshi friends.
Production
Lokah Chapter: 1 Chandra is the seventh production venture of Dulquer Salmaan's Wayfarer Films. [12] [13] It is intended as the beginning of a full-fledged Malayalam superhero cinematic universe titled Lokah, a project being mounted on a large scale with a possibility of multiple chapters. [12] Dulquer Salmaan aims to build an indigenous cinematic universe rooted in local culture, folklore, and mythology. [14] [15] Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen joined as the main cast. Kalyani had practiced martial arts for the film. [16]
The film is written and directed by Dominic Arun, known for Tharangam (2017). [17] Dominic Arun revealed that the idea for the film was discussed as early as 2020 and developed organically, emphasizing that creating a female superhero was not a deliberate attempt to break the mold. [17] Santhy Balachandran has contributed to the additional screenplay and dramaturgy. [17] [18] The technical crew includes Nimish Ravi as the cinematographer, [18] Chaman Chakko as the editor, [18] Jakes Bejoy for music, [18] Banglan as the production designer, [18] and Yannick Ben handling action choreography. [18] Melwy J. handled the costume design, collaborating with Archana Akhil Rao for specific sequences, including Kalyani Priyadarshan's looks. [17] Jom Varghese and Bibin Perumballi served as executive producers. [13] [12]
The film's pre-production began on 12 September 2024, [19] and the principal photography commencing with a muhurat pooja ceremony on the same day under a working title Production No: 7, marking Kalyani's first film with Naslen and her second feature with Dulquer Salmaan's production banner. [19] [20] The shooting for the film was completed by 30 January 2025. [21] Shooting lasted for 94 days. [22] The film's title Lokah – Chapter One: Chandra was unveiled on 8 June 2025, [23] with the cast including Chandu Salimkumar, Arun Kurian, Vijayaraghavan, Raghunath Paleri, Sarath Sabha, Nithya Shri, and Nishanth Sagar. [24]
Reception
Box office
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra opened to ₹2.71 crore in Kerala and ₹6.66 crore worldwide. [36] [37] The film went on to collect ₹65 crore in its first four day weekend run worldwide. [38] [39] Within seven days of release, the film's worldwide gross crossed ₹100 crore. [40] In 9 days, the film grossed ₹145 crore. [41] In 12 days the film had grossed ₹198 crore, [42] and crossed ₹200 crore on its 13th day. [43] In 19 days, the film crossed ₹250 crore at the worldwide box office. [44]
The film has grossed over ₹300 crore globally, making it the highest grossing Malayalam film of all time, highest grossing film in Kerala of all time, highest-grossing Malayalam film in India, second highest-grossing Malayalam film overseas, one of the highest-grossing Indian superhero films and one of the highest-grossing Indian films featuring a female lead. [a]
The film is also the eighth highest grossing Indian film of all time in the Gulf Countries and second highest grossing Malayalam film in the Gulf Countries. In Malaysia, the film opened at tenth place at Malaysian Box office [45] . Most of the Malaysian collection come from Tamil version.
The film has completed 100 days of theatrical run on 6 December 2025.
Critical response
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra received generally positive reviews from critics.
Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 4/5 stars, noting that "What makes the Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen-starrer far better than other massive-budget fantasy spectacles is that its magnificence extends beyond visual brilliance to include impeccable writing". [46] Vivek Santhosh of The New Indian Express gave the film 3.5/5 stars, terming it "A bold, imperfect but unforgettable step into Malayalam cinema's first mythic universe, where Kalyani Priyadarshan's Chandra embodies folklore, fire, and neon spectacle in a world still finding its full shape". [47] Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rated 4/5 and wrote, "Superhero saga done right blending Indian folklore with Hollywood swagger." [48]
Roopa Radhakrishnan of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars and noted that while Lokah Chapter: 1 Chandra has its flaws, such as a slow start, overstretched feeling of cameos, and some jokes that don't land, its positives outweigh the negatives". [49] Swathi P. Ajith of Onmanorama praised Lokah Chapter: 1 Chandra for its "bold" visual design and "immersive" world-building, noting its unique blend of Kerala folklore and the modern-day superhero genre". [50] Athira M of The Hindu noted that Lokah Chapter: 1 Chandra handles the superhero genre with expertise, praising its "catchy" cinematic quality, visual effects, production design, and background score. The review highlighted Kalyani Priyadarshan's performance as "the first female superhero of Malayalam cinema". [51]
