Lokah Chapter I – My take
Jaya Prakash
Kallikkal
#Mollywood,
Across civilizations
and centuries, the figure of the superhero has embodied our oldest storytelling
instincts- a bridge between myth and modernity.
Today’s cinema carries the lineage forward, casting extraordinary beings
as guardians of justice and catalysts of social change. In an era defined by unrest, threats and
uncertain future, younger generations look outward for saviours as they peer
inwards gathering power to seize power themselves, as vividly demonstrated by
Gen-Z movements of Kathmandu to countless other squares. Lokah – Chapter I,
emerges as a block-buster in this charged times as a potential game changer for
Indian cinema, shifting gears and assigning charge to a new super hero, a woman
who shall wield the power, not as a mere spectacle but as profound cultural
force.
Superman, created in 1938 by
Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster, has been one of the most iconic superheroes in
global cinema. While Superman representing
the traits of an immigrant hero born as Kal-El on the doomed planet of Krypton
and raised as Clark Kent in rural Texas is a character that blends near divine
powers with capabilities for flights and super strength, he is shown to be
deeply human, shaped by his adoptive
parents. Several other characters such
as Spider man, Black Panther, Ultraman have amused world audiences through
movies that have been box office hits. Taking
the tradition forward is a recently released Malayalam movie.
I watched Lokah Chapter I, at
PVR, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi where the turnout of women out-numbered that of men. This Dulquar Salman Production has Kalyani
Priyadarshan as Chandra, the female lead superhero who lends a fresh air to the
desires of Generation Z, fighting injustice and unfolding mysteries through a characterization
from ancient Malayalam folk lore. Chandra
is young but ageless, she is beautiful with a pretty face but not face-less or wears
mask, like many other superhero characters from across the globe.
I felt, Lokah, Chapter I is a
film for the young, by the young. Old
have to go. The film attempts to usher
in a new era of superhero films with its striking visual imagery conjured up
through fantastic cinematography techniques used by Nimish Ravi. As a viewer, I felt the transitions in the movie,
frequently throwing a viewer back and forth into time different time zones
especially while attempting narration of folk lore and fables which seemed jarring
and disturbing. Incorporating multiple set of techniques and
mediums lent a feel of struggle with time lines and conflicting methodologies and
discussions (with the film production unit).
While on one end, a viewer is awed by effective use of VFX effects and
slick editing, on the other extreme end was the movie reeling out traditional
animation with a changed colour code. A
let down for a movie buff like me who ends up comparing a Hollywood Sci fi block
buster with a movie like LC1.
However, I could not hold back my
joy, when I saw big applause and clapping to the moves of Chandra came from movie
goes. That perhaps was the moment when I
felt that Malayalam cinema has broken the shackles and by making Chandra, a
superhero, changed the narrative of cinema in India. Whether it is a superior police officer
slapping her junior (natchiappa gowda) or Chandra (playing the character of
Neeli) slapping Chathan (Tovino) at his attempts at getting closer to her,
makes one realize that the world of tomorrow shall belong to those who hold the
power and it could well be spearheaded by women.
As for the structure of the
movie, I found the film employing a cliché of a mysterious character, the protagonist,
Chandra, gelling into a regular Benguluru middle class neighbourhood, hiring
out a flat but frequently having dubious characters entering her flat as regular
blood supplies dilutes the freshness of the film, the antagonist The
antagonist, Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda is portrayed as a typical misogynistic character.
Evil, bereft of emotions and patriarchal, he seems to have taken a leaf out of
a typical Bollywood villain. In a movie
like LC1, clear revolution should have been brought out for a character
endorsing evil. Making a villain wear
clothes of a police officer and employing an elite force called ‘Garuda’ for stopping
or killing ‘Chandra’ (referred to as being a terrorist) and a subtle endorsement
of a system supporting evil spread by the ‘Mafia’ shown as shadowy underworld
was I felt unacceptable. A more creative and imaginative tinge to the story
should have been employed in the film, especially as it has capacity to hold
its sway amongst youth.
As for the idea of secret societies,
cults and religions, used in the movie, instead of employing fresh ideas, LC1
tries to reach conclusion using traditional leads like Kathanar from a church
and his likely contemporaries like Neeli, Chathan and Odiyan (from Kerala folk
lore) struggling to merge sentiments, time zones and characters into an
international set up restricted by geographical boundaries, passports and currencies.
While the film tries to cross borders of space, Chandra seems suffocated and is
reduced to a status of a Secret Agent with finite possibilities and an inherent
fear about future. An unlikely close for a superhero.
Jakes Bejoy has done a wonderful
job with BGM and music scores. However, I
felt the overall feel at PVR where I watched the movie was spoiled owing to limited
sound re-production system where the ambience felt noisy. Reasonable cuts and ambient or merging music
should have been employed at various points in the movie, instead of the sound
production team continuing with new age/sci fi bgm in the entire movie lending
to a feel of tiredness (owing to excess sound) towards the end of the movie.
Yes, Kalyani Priyadarshan has
done a wonderful job. Her natural beauty and acting skills, added up with
superhero traits (a big applause to Quy Truong, her body double) stood out
distinct and clear echoing the sentiment of Woman Power and empowerment. I am
sure Kalyani has huge potential to be an international star with the superwoman
badge clinging to her for a long time. I would love to see Chandra team up with
Hollywood superheroes in near future.
As for Naslen, he was charming and
a simple uncomplicated neighbourhood boy willing to toe the line of a powerful
female lead character, the Protagonist, Chandra. I hope to see him grow into a strong character
and a superhero, in the later editions of Lokah. Nelsen surely is not a cameo, as played by
Tovino representing Chathan or Charlie, the odiyan played by Dulquar Salmaan. Roles of Nishanth Sagar as Venu and Vijayaraghavan
as Prakash were memorable so was the one played by Chandu Salimkumar.
I believe, the best is yet to
come, I look out for Moothon (Mammotty) to take the Chapters of Lokah forward
following a fresh narrative. I hope he is not stuck up as Gandalf the Grey (who
he is) of Lord of the Rings fame, ending up organizing meet ups as in the ‘Fellowship
of the Ring’ and suffocating within the boundaries of a human world pulled as a
puppet by Illuminati on Earth. Human
imagination is wide and Malayalam film industry has one of the finest acting
and technical talents amongst them. Produced
with a budget of 30 Cr and hitting the 100 cr bracket, finance should not be a
constraint to the producers for coming out with other chapters of the movie.
Yet, I hope they should take more time to brain storm and not rush through with
Production. Let this be a watershed
movement for the Indian Film Industry especially the VFX, Special effects,
sound production, editing and technical teams to come out with a global best
next time around.
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