Actor and producer Dulquer Salmaan deserves major appreciation for backing a female centric project like this. The film is a good mix of western tropes with strong folklore. At times the film bears a striking resemblance to the Tripti Dimri starrer Bulbbul too, in terms of the men targeted by the protagonists coupled with the strong personalities.
Starcast: Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen, Sandy, Arun Kurian, Chandu Salimkumar and others
Genre: Fantasy/action
Story, direction and screenplay: Dominic Arun
Additional screenplay: Santhy Balachandran
Producer: Dulquer Salmaan
Production house: Wayfare Films
Music: Jakes Bejoy
Cinematography: Nimish Ravi
Running time: 2 hours and 29 minutes
Before dissecting Kotha Lokah Part 1 (Chandra) a major appreciation should be given to actor and producer Dulquer Salmaan. Backing a female superhero subject on a big scale takes a different kind of thought process and Dulquer deserves every bit of appreciation for making sure that the film doesn’t come across as a compromised product. Technically speaking Kotha Lokah Part 1 (Chandra) is far ahead of the many big budget extravagances specially a movie like War 2 with its shabby VFX. Fortunately Kotha Lokah Part 1 is much more than just the visuals. It has a strong plot with the right fusion of west meets east. The film also benefits from Kalyani Priyadarshan’s strong act something which I will get to later.
Dulquer Salmaan the producer of the movie along with a small cameo
The storyline of Kotha Lokha Part 1 (Chandra) focuses on the mysterious Kalyani Priyadarshan She lands in Banglore and soon finds work in a coffee shop. Chandra is asked to maintain a low profile by a mystifying man Moothon (voice over given by Mammootty). Chandra tries her best to maintain a low profile but the past catches up soon due to the neighbor Sunny (Naslen of Premalu fame). Sunny is very curious about Chandra’s real identity and this leads to a stunning revelation. Parallelly the city of Bangalore is witnessing cases of organ trafficking, how these two tracks collide forms the centric basis of Kotha Lokha Part 1 (Chandra).
A strong aspect of the movie is the efficient world building done by Dominic Arun and Santhy Balachandran. Unlike the many big screen extravagances focusing on elevations this one takes its time to establish the world of Chandra and Sunny. The portions of Sunny with his wastrel friends may seem to be an unnecessary subplot in the beginning but how the director connects the two worlds is brilliant.
The integration of Chandra’s origin story with actor Vijayaraghavan’s narration is also fantastic. It comes in at the right moment giving a solid emotional touch. The haunting visuals of Nimish Ravi coupled with Jakes Bejoy’s music elevates this stretch further. The touch of Kerala Folklore with the template of modern superhero will be a delight for fans of sci fi and superhero movies.
A growing bond between Sunny and Chandra with an undercurrent of romance is also a treat to watch. By the ending you wish the two had met in different circumstances. As Sunny Naslen is an absolute riot with his expressions and one liners. There is an inherent sweetness to the part in spite of a certain lazy nature and Naslen does a very fine job in bringing that out. Mention must also be made of Chandu Salimkumar, he also brings in a fair share of laughs sharing a perfect chemistry with Naslen.
What also makes the film click are the real world issues through a conservative a police inspector Nachiyappa Gowda (a despicable Sandy). Nachiyappa Gowda is a traditionalist who doesn’t like women with modern traits. This comes out visibly in different occasions. So the character of Chandra represents a superwoman taking on patriarchal structures while standing up against the organ trafficking ring.
The major ace for the film apart from the visuals is Kalyani Priyadarshan’s strong act. She is absolutely wonderful in the action sequences bringing in a strong agility. Apart from the physicality the actress is also good in bringing an emotional depth specially in the second half scenes with Sunny. In a short its a performance which has the right mixture of fierceness and vulnerability.
Talking about the cameos Tovino Thomas has an extended special appearance and the actor seems to be having a ball enjoying the whacky characterization. Dulquer Salmaan comes at the end, he has a stylish entry. In spite of the limited screen time the swag is unmissable.
Final word: Kotha Lokha Part 1 (Chandra) is a big scale experiment worth appreciating in theatres.