Kalyani Priyadarshan: Basil Joseph Was The First to Suggest I Do 'Lokah'

Kalyani Priyadarshan’s entry into Lokah can be traced back to a recommendation by Basil Joseph. “To be very honest, the first person who told me to do this film was Basil. He was supposed to be a part of the film initially, and he didn’t have dates. He didn’t give us dates for a long time!” she tells The Hollywood Reporter India in an interview.

Joseph’s scheduling delays meant his involvement never materialised. What did remain was his confidence in the project and his insistence that she should be part of it.

Being part of a suave, experimental superhero franchise like Lokah almost meant having complete faith in director Dominic Arun. “All of us trusted Dominic. I don’t think this film could have been made without that trust. Otherwise, you’re constantly doubting yourself,” she says. It was an environment that allowed room for risk, including changes made deep into the process.

One of the biggest shifts came with the film’s interval block. While most of Lokah followed the script closely, the interval was reworked during filming and on the edit table. “We weren’t satisfied with how some sequences were coming out,” she explains. Arun decided to restructure the section, intercutting scenes in a way that wasn’t originally planned.

For Priyadarshan, that moment summed up the film’s approach. “Preparation gives you structure, but spontaneity gives you soul,” she says. The decision proved crucial, with the interval block emerging as one of the most talked-about sections of the film.

She also credits the film’s visual strength to the collaboration between Arun and cinematographer Nimish Ravi. Seeing how the film was being shot gave her confidence, even as the usual uncertainties lingered.

“There’s always that last two per cent of whether people are going to like this, or take it the wrong way? But once you’re in a film, you commit fully,” she says. "Naslen and I were super nervous. On the day of release, we didn't step out. At 3 pm, when we knew it was getting good reviews, we called each other and said 'Okay, I think we can step out now,'" she laughs.