Kalyani Priyadarshan as Chandra in a poster for Lokah Chapter One: Chandra
Wayfarer Films
In an interview with Forbes.com about the success of blockbuster Malayalam film Lokah Chapter One: Chandra, lead Kalyani Priyadarshan confirmed rumors that her character Chandra would return in future Lokah films.
When asked if this was the last audiences had seen of Chandra, she said “Definitely not. Definitely not. I can’t reveal more than that, but, yeah.” She also replied in the affirmative when asked if she would appear as cameos or more in the sequels.
Building a Folklore-Based Cinematic Universe
Directed by Dominic Arun, the Lokah cinematic universe is reportedly planned as five separate installments, with each installment focusing on a different mythological figure from South Indian folklore.
The first film follows the journey of Chandra (played by Priyadarshan), a contemporary incarnation of the ‘yakshi’ (mythical and often malevolent female spirit, pronounced yek-shee) character from Kerala folklore.
Throughout the film, she interacts with other creatures famed in South Indian folklore, including a Chathan (goblin/demon, pronounced chaa-then), the Odiyan (mythical shapeshifter practicing black magic, pronounced o-di-yen), and the Kathanar (sorcerer priest, pronounced kath-then-aar).
The credits scenes teased a sequel centering Tovino Thomas as Michael the Chathan and producer Dulquer Salmaan as Charlie the Odiyan, which Priyadarshan reconfirmed, saying “ The second film is definitely going to be a Chathan story.”
There had already been speculation about Chandra’s return in future installments, considering that [spoiler] although her whereabouts are unknown, she is still alive at the end of the first film. However, this is the first time anyone from the core team has confirmed it in an interview.
A Record-Breaking Run
Multiple reports placed Lokah Chapter One’s box office as having crossed the ₹300 crore (~$33 million) mark, a record-breaking achievement for Malayalam cinema. It’s now recognized as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, and one of India’s top-performing films of 2025.
Released theatrically on August 28, 2025, across five Indian languages — Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada — the film’s multilingual rollout helped boost its reach, especially among the global diaspora.
As the Lokah cinematic universe expands, it joins a growing movement of Indian films (Kantara, Tumbbad, Munjya, Minnal Murali) that reclaim local myth and reframe it for global audiences. If RRR introduced Telugu cinema to the mainstream global conversation, Lokah could do the same for Malayalam cinema, signaling that India’s next great export may come not from Bollywood, but from a language spoken by just 38 million people.
The expanded interview with Priyadarshan and writer Santhy Balachandran is available here.
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