Dominic Arun INTERVIEW: Lokah director says Mammootty 'needs more convincing’ on future of Moothon, emphasizes DQ's involvement

Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra is currently running successfully in theaters and has been lauded by critics. Directed by Dominic Arun, the Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer is a dark fantasy superhero movie, produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films.

Sharing his journey behind the movie, director Dominic Arun spoke with Pinkvilla about the future installments, even confirming the sequel with Tovino Thomas and a possible collaboration with Mammootty.

Dominic Arun Interview

1. Your first movie, Tharangam, was a tale that emphasized the innovation in storytelling. Coming to Lokah, you’ve carved out a whole universe from Kerala’s folklore. How did it materialize from scratch?

Ans. I’ve never deliberately chosen to follow a specific style. I am a kind of filmmaker who wants to make something that I genuinely like. These stories just come naturally to me based on my personal experiences.

Be it Tharangam or Lokah, I’ve never given a thought to, ‘I want to do something purposefully.’ I just instinctively feel like telling my stories like this. I’ve never studied screenwriting, nor have I read a lot of stories either, but I just wanted to narrate one.

2. Adapting the essence of fantasy and blending it with realism is quite a feat from a writing perspective. How do you visualize the future of the characters that were introduced in Lokah?

Ans. Every character that came into Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra has a specific purpose. Even for Chandra, there is a bigger purpose in the universe. She isn’t just going to be limited to this film, and she will continue to be an important character going forward.

As of now, we’ve only given a short glimpse of her, but in the bigger picture, all these characters have much more to contribute. Even the cameos have backstories; we didn’t include them just for the sake of it, but I can’t reveal more details about that yet.

3. From a technical standpoint, Lokah stands as a perfect example of how technology can be used to create stunning visuals. That being said, how did you manage to achieve this with a budget of Rs 30 crore?

Ans. For approximately 1.5 to 2 years, we dedicated time to the pre-production work. During that phase itself, we identified where we would have to spend more and where we could be more constrained.

From the beginning, our team had detailed discussions. Everything was well-planned, and as a result, our thought process was to utilize technology to the best extent. I believe that having that time for prep work made it possible to achieve this quality on our budget.

4. We already know how Lokah: Chapter 1 is just the tip of the iceberg. As the sequel is touted to be with Tovino Thomas’ Chaathan character, will it be a grander tale?

Ans. When the movie ends, we say that ‘The Chaathans will arrive,’ and the second installment will be a solo venture with Tovino Thomas as the lead. While we will focus on Chaathan’s story, there is a greater purpose behind everything.

The entire cinematic universe is leading to a certain conclusion, and the sequel film about the Chaathan will explore more about it, acting as the next step towards it.

5. Now, Lokah was released in theaters for Onam and had a box office clash with Mohanlal’s Hridayapoorvam. What are your thoughts on that scenario?

Ans. I’ve never believed there to be a competition of sorts. When we decided to release the film in theaters during Onam, we only saw it as a time when many people come together to watch a film in theaters.

For every movie released, there is room for it to flourish; that is what I and the production team believed. I just think there was some magic for us that got attention from everyone.

6. By now, many people know Mammootty plays the role of Moothon. How did he say yes to the role, and how did you integrate such a superstar into the universe?

Ans. When we initially started discussing the story itself, we already knew there would be a character like Moothon. When we were discussing it with Dulquer Salmaan, we expressed our wish that Mammukka could play the role.

Just before the shoot began, Mammukka asked us to narrate the story. We went to him, narrated it, and finally told him we wanted him as Moothon. He said, ‘You guys go finish up your work first, we’ll think about it.’

After the shoot, both DQ and Mammukka saw the first cut and liked it. That’s when we again asked Mammukka to take on the role, and he agreed to dub for the character.

I believe Mammootty sir still needs a lot more convincing if he is to continue playing Moothon in future films.

7. Finally, will we ever get to see Moothon’s character unleashing his full potential in the upcoming movies?

Ans. Yes, in the upcoming movies. Not the next one, but down the line, we will get to see him in his full potential. Moothon is like the prime character in the universe, and like everyone else, I too hope it’ll happen with Mammukka.

ALSO READ: Kalyani Priyadarshan INTERVIEW: ‘Entire structure for the next movies is completely laid out…’