The KPAC (Kerala People's Arts Club), a highly influential leftist theater movement, provided a steady influx of actors, directors, and politically conscious storylines to the early film industry. Social Reform and Political Consciousness

: From the yakshi legends of Kaliyankattu Neeli to the ubiquitous Kuttichathan , Malayalam filmmakers have long found fertile ground in local folklore for their stories. The 2025 blockbuster Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra , which subverts the traditional yakshi myth into a superhero narrative, is a prime example of this enduring relationship. This tradition goes back decades, to films like K.S. Sethumadhavan’s Yakshi (1968), which used the folk figure as a device for a sophisticated psychological thriller.