Kalyani Priyadarshan Interview: A Film Like 'Lokah' Would Have Been Impossible Without Dulquer Salmaan

Kalyani Priyadarshan says she has never felt this nervous before. Not only is she headlining a massive superhero movie, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, which releases this Thursday, but the day after sees the release of Odum Kuthira Chadum Kuthira, her first film with Fahadh Faasil. If one is a sci-fi fantasy that requires a world of its own, the other is a relatable romance with a brand of over-the-top humour.

Despite how distinct her characters are from each other, they were shot almost simultaneously. But Kalyani looks at juggling both schedules as something of a “blessing in disguise.” She explains, “At first, we started shooting for Odum Kuthira, but I remember feeling a bit nervous about attempting its brand of OTT comedy. It’s something that’s easy for the audience to criticise, so I felt a bit worried while doing it. But after a break, I joined the sets of Lokah where my character was super restrained. Let alone performing loudly; the director Dominic (Arun) wouldn’t even let me blink or move my arms around. What worked for me was the contrast. So when I returned to Odum Kuthira after a schedule of Lokah, I felt like I got this newfound freedom, like a pressure tap getting opened.”

In Lokah, she plays Chandra, the first female superhero of Malayalam cinema. An added sci-fi element makes the film even more unique. “You need to appreciate that we have people like Dulquer backing such a film," she says. "Not only is it very different; it also takes a lot of courage to spend so much time and money on a film like Lokah. I’m not sure if such subjects are being discussed in other industries but it’s because of people like him that it’s being made in Malayalam. He’s a real risk-taker and if you look at his parents and mine, they were risk-takers too. That matters.”

It’s not a genre she’s a stranger to. She says she’s a fan of dystopian movies like Gattaca, just as she admires mainstream blockbusters like The Avengers. “Isn’t that obvious, given the family I come from?" she jokes.

But even for her, it’s when she saw Lokah in its final avatar that she fully understood the scale and size of the film it has turned out to be. “It was genuinely beyond what I could imagine when I first read it. I was blown away.”

And that’s why she doesn’t complete a sentence about Lokah without naming Nimish Ravi, the DOP, along with its director, Dominic Arun. “It’s a film with a world of its own."

Not that Kalyani is against the idea of making a film without fully understanding it. “That’s how I did Thallumaala,” she laughs. “Not just me; I don’t think Tovi (Tovino Thomas) too knew what we were shooting. All I knew was that Mohsin Parari was writing this film and that he made my all-time favourite Malayalam film—Sudani From Nigeria. And when I watched Thallumaala, and I finally got it, I felt I could have done so much more!”

Her other favourite Malayalam film is Kilukkam, directed by her father, the legendary Priyadarshan. “I love Kanchivaram in Tamil and Hera Pheri in Hindi,” she says, adding, “When you ask me about the rigours of acting in two films back to back, that too in Malayalam, all I can think of is what I’ve seen growing up. People like my dad have somehow made me normalise the kind of hard work that goes into making films. So it’s in my nature to be a workaholic.”

But in terms of a difference between her and her father, Kalyani feels it’s her ability to switch off once the work gets done. “I don’t think dad can do that. In fact, he feels restless when there’s no shoot to get to. He’ll work even when he’s not well and that’s what I learnt about him during the pandemic.”

Which is why she feels her dad will never retire, even though he said recently that he is looking at giving up filmmaking after his 100th film with Mohanlal. “I don’t think he can retire. He’s not built like that.”

A still from 'Lokah'

As for Kalyani, she understands today what it takes to be an actor and the commitment that goes with it. “A senior told me once that as actors, we have to keep playing different characters from one movie to the next. But we still have only one pair of eyes, one set of arms, and one way we laugh.” She pauses, adding, “The difference we’re able to bring is based only on how deeply we believe in the roles we take up. What we feel will reflect on screen, too.”

Although the conversation briefly detours into all things serious, she’s quick to bring it back to home base: humour. “See, I’d like to think that I’m funny. In fact, I think I’m the funniest person among my friends…but no one gets my sarcasm. I know I’m funny but there aren't a lot of people who don’t understand my style of humour. So I don’t joke,” she says. “That’s pretty sad, no?”