Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra sparks row, dialogue axed to appease Kannadigas

The Malayalam superhero film Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra recently sparked controversy after Kannadigas criticised a dialogue spoken by the film’s villain, Sandy. Producer Dulquer Salmaan and his team at Wayfarer Films responded swiftly, announcing that the line had been removed from the movie and issuing a public apology. The movie tells the story of Sunny, a young man who becomes infatuated with his mysterious neighbour, Chandra, only to discover that she is not human. Serving as the first instalment of the planned Wayfarer Cinematic Universe, the film has been met with glowing reviews from both critics and audiences and has claimed the top spot at the Kerala box office.

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Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra dialogue issue

Set in Bangalore, the film features Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda, the antagonist and a misogynist, who openly expresses his disdain for women throughout the story. In one scene, when his mother pressures him to get married, he replies, “I am not saying I won’t get married. But I won’t marry a girl from this city because they’re all s***s.” This dialogue drew heavy criticism online.

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Wayfarer Films cuts line from Lokah Chapter 1

Addressing the backlash, Wayfarer Films released a statement on social media: “It has come to our attention that a dialogue delivered by one of the characters in our film Lokah: Chapter One has unintentionally hurt the sentiments of people from Karnataka. At Wayfarer Films, we place people above everything else.” They went on to apologise for the issue and confirmed that the dialogue has been removed from all prints of the film.

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Meet the cast of Lokah

The cast of the film includes Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen, Chandu Salimkumar, Arun Kurian and Vijayaraghavan. The film is directed by Dominic Arun, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra was co-written by him and Santhy Balachandran and is currently running in theatres.