Lokah: Chapter 1—Chandra Earns Praise for Its Strong Production Values and Budget Management
In a recent interview, Lokah’s production designer Banglan highlighted that Mollywood prioritizes spending its budget on the film’s quality and production rather than on actors' salaries.
Dominic Arun’s superhero film Lokah: Chapter 1—Chandra, produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, has been getting applause not just for its story but also for the high-quality production work behind it. The film stars Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen, and features a rich, detailed world that required extensive set design and careful attention to detail.
In a recent interview with Cinema Express, the film’s production designer, Banglan, spoke about the importance of using the budget effectively. Taking a subtle jab at other film industries, Banglan pointed out that many spend most of their money on actors’ salaries, while the actual look and feel of the film suffer. He praised Dulquer Salmaan for trusting the team and giving them the freedom to build the film’s world without excessive worries about budget constraints.
Banglan explained, “If money is spent, it has to be visible in the frame. From beginning to end, the audience can see that quality in Lokah. In other industries, 80 per cent of the budget often goes into actors’ salaries. Here, more is spent on making, and every penny spent is visible in the frames. We are able to complete films within the quoted budget, which is not always the case elsewhere.”
Interestingly, despite featuring special appearances by stars like Tovino Thomas, Dulquer Salmaan himself, Soubin Shahir, and even a voice cameo from Mammootty, Lokah was made on a budget of ₹30 crore. Dulquer, speaking at a success meet in Hyderabad, acknowledged that while this might seem like a relatively modest budget for some film industries, it’s actually quite substantial for Malayalam cinema (Mollywood). He noted that the budget for Lokah is comparable to his previous big films, King of Kotha (₹50 crore) and Kurup (₹35 crore).
He added, “For us, that is a big budget. And even then, not a single rupee was spent unnecessarily.”
Lokah: Chapter 1—Chandra is the first installment of a planned five-part franchise. The next film will feature Tovino Thomas, who made a cameo in the first part, as the lead character — a goblin named Chathan.