Dulquer Salmaan addresses criticism of cinema often catering to male gaze; credits this person for Lokah being different

Dulquer Salmaan, who produced Kalyani Priyadarshan's superhero film Lokah, celebrated the film's success in Hyderabad on Thursday.

If there’s one recent release that everyone is talking about, it’s the Malayalam film Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra. Dominic Arun’s superhero film starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen and Sandy was produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films. Celebrating the film crossing the ₹100 crore threshold worldwide, Dulquer addressed criticism of how cinema is usually catered to the male gaze.

Dulquer Salmaan said he never experienced success like Lokah in his career.

Dulquer Salmaan addresses criticism of cinema catering to male gaze

Dulquer admitted at the success event in Hyderabad on Wednesday that most cinema cater to the male gaze. However, crediting the screenwriter of the film, actor Santhy Balachandran, for Lokah’s authenticity, he said, “Santhy, thank you for giving us a woman’s voice in this film. We are always told that we write and approach our cinema with the male gaze. I don’t even want to say female…if there’s a lady superhero or superstar today and we represented her correctly, all credit to Santhy B.”

Dulquer also admitted at the event that he had never experienced success like this in his career as an actor. “We are still trying to process what is happening. For us, Lokah was something always very intimate; it almost felt like a very expensive indie film. We had to get Jakes (Bejoy) to commercialise it. But the way it’s just blown up and everywhere in the country, I have done 40 plus movies, and I have not experienced this as a hero for any of my films. Thank you to the audiences for accepting Lokah,” he said.

About Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra

Lokah is the first part of a planned superhero series. It became the highest-grossing South Indian female-led film, beating films by Anushka Shetty, Keerthy Suresh and Nayanthara. It tells the story of a mysterious Chandra (Kalyani) who is summoned back to India by the leader she follows, Moothon (voiced by Mammootty). Naslen plays her love interest and neighbour, Sunny, while Sandy plays the antagonist, Inspector Nachiyappa.