When Dominic Arun’s Malayalam superhero film Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra was released in theatres on August 28, producer Dulquer Salmaan and lead actors Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen did not expect the film to gross ₹300 crore worldwide. In an interview with Galatta Plus while promoting his upcoming film Kaantha, Dulquer stated that he still doesn’t know how Lokah became the highest-grossing Malayalam film.

Dulquer Salmaan cannot crack the secret to Lokah’s success

Dulquer was asked in the interview, now that time has passed since the release of Lokah, if he has cracked the reason why the film blew up the way it did. He responded, “It’s not something we could plan or predict. I don’t think we can ever break down the science of what makes a film work. If we knew, then we wouldn’t be…figuring out Kaantha, how many languages to dub, how long we have to shoot. There is no science to what is going to work.”

The actor added that all a film’s team can do is make a film with honesty and concentrate on the writing, apart from wanting to tell a great story. He expressed shock at Lokah’s success and said, “I legit thought we were going to lose money on the first film in world-building. Because it went twice over budget, and we couldn’t sell the music rights because we needed it for the other films. But I liked the product and was very happy with how it came out. I thought we were doing something cool and unique and young and bold. If it does click, then there’s the possibility of the other chapters. But none of us expected it to go the way it did.”

Recent work

Dulquer was last seen in the 2024 Telugu film Lucky Baskhar, apart from playing a cameo in his production, Lokah, as an Odiyan (shapeshifter) ninja named Charlie. Lokah Chapter 2 will be headlined by Tovino Thomas, and the announcement video teased the return of Charlie.

Kaantha, directed by Selvaraj Selvamani, will be released in theatres on November 14 in Tamil and Telugu. Also starring Bhagyashri Borse, Samuthirakani, and Rana Daggubati, the film is produced by Dulquer Salmaan and Rana Daggubati. Dulquer has I’m Game in Malayalam and Aakasamlo Oka Tara lined up in Telugu.