Kalyani Priyadarshan says she feared being ‘the worst thing’ about Lokah Chapter 1: Thought I didn’t have what it takes

Kalyani Priyadarshan talked about how she had doubts whether she would be able to ace the role of Chandra in Lokah Chapter 1.

Filmmaker Priyadarshan’s daughter and actor Kalyani Priyadarshan won hearts with her superhero avatar in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. However, in a recent interview with The Nod Magazine, Kalyani revealed that she felt she didn’t have what it takes to play the character and opened up to Dulquer Salmaan about her doubts.

Lokah on OTT: Kalyani Priyadarshani plays the lead in the movie.

Kalyani Priyadarshan on her inital doubts about leading Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

Kalyani shared that just one week into the shoot of Lokah: Chapter 1, she called Dulquer Salmaan, the film’s producer. She said, “I told him that I might end up being the worst thing about the film. I was sure that I didn’t have what it takes, that I was taking too long to grasp the character. Chandra was meant to be so impassive that my director would not even let me frown. That is tough for me, as I am usually the most animated person in any room!”

Kalyani added that what she feared most was that her character’s robotic, blank gaze would be misconstrued as a lacklustre outing for a lead. She said, “As Indians, we are used to seeing stone-cold men on screen. We rarely come across that in women. I was afraid that people might not understand Chandra. Then again, the biggest lesson I have learnt from this film is not to make assumptions about the audience.”

About Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

The 2025 Malayalam-language superhero film, written and directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan, tells the story of Chandra, a mysterious woman who arrives in Bengaluru and is summoned by Moothon to fight evil. In the process, she becomes entangled with Inspector Nachiyappa and a gang associated with him. Apart from Kalyani Priyadarshan, the film also stars Naslen, Sandy, Arun Kurian and Chandu Salim Kumar in key roles.

The film began slowly at the box office, but strong word-of-mouth contributed to its remarkable growth. Made on a budget of ₹30 crore, it collected ₹303.67 crore worldwide, emerging as a blockbuster.