Manu Swaraj was heartbroken when his directorial debut, Padakkalam, opened to not-so-positive reviews. But over three weeks into its release, he is a happy man, with the movie, a fantasy entertainer, emerging a sleeper hit at the box office.
Padakkalam is the story of four close friends who are engineering students — Jithin (Sandeep Pradeep), Kannan (Saaf Boi), Ramsad (Arun Pradeep) and Nakul (Arun Ajikumar). The fantasy element kicks in when Jithin, an introvert trying to get over a break-up, discovers that one of their professors, Renjith TS (Sharafudheen) has a superpower which he uses to control his professional rival, Shaji KK (Suraj Venjaramoodu). Jithin too becomes a prey to Renjith’s power. As the four friends set out to solve this, things go out of hand, leading to a laugh riot.
“They are frontbenchers,” Manu says. “We have so many films that talk about the backbenchers and mostly about their mischief or unlawful activities. The world we created did not resonate with some of the reviewers. Thankfully word-of-mouth publicity brought in more viewers for the movie.”
Manu Swaraj on the location of Padakkalam
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Manu, 30, specifies that the idea was born on February 23, 2023, while he was working out in a gym! He shared it with Nithin C Babu, his classmate, who has co-written the film. “I prefer to call him the writer and myself the co-writer. The thought came at a time when our script pitches were getting rejected. I felt that this might be our last chance and so we decided that even if we did not get a producer, we would make the film somehow. We were that excited about the concept,” says Manu, who hails from Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram.
Manu and Nithin have used some of their character traits in the film. “For example, Jithin’s mannerisms in the first half are Nithin’s and the second half, mine.”
Manu, an engineer, used to make short films even while in school. “I did engineering because I wanted a degree and the subject interested me. But there was no plan to go along that path further.” The turning point was when he submitted one of his short films, Corridor, to an inter-college festival, while in his first year of engineering. “I was not enthused about taking part in the contest. But the fact that my film will be projected on a big screen excited me. That decision changed my life,” he says.
(From left) Arun Ajikumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Arun Pradeep, Saaf Boi and Sandeep Pradeep in a scene from Padakkalam
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“Basil Joseph, who had by then established his credentials with his short films and was assisting Vineeth Sreenivasan in Thira, was a judge of the competition. He appreciated the work and even suggested introducing a new award category — one for best upcoming talent and I won that honour. He also asked me to get in touch with him. When I called him, he asked if I was interested in assisting him in his debut film, Kunjiramayanam. That was an offer I couldn’t resist.”
Since Basil insisted that he finish his course before joining films, Manu did not work in his sophomore film, Godha. In 2019, Basil called him to assist in Minnal Murali. Even though Manu was asked to join as an assistant in the art direction team, he eventually “worked in almost all the departments for the next two years. It was exciting, especially working with the VFX and special effects team. Those two years were like a film school. Working closely with Basil chettan helped me understand his process and approach to cinema.”
(From left) Sharafudheen, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Arun Pradeep, Saaf Boi and Arun Ajikumar in a scene from Padakkalam
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It was Basil who was instrumental in greenlighting Padakkalam. “Once the script was almost ready, I realised that it was a structure I learnt from Basil chettan and I was sure he would say yes to the project. I wanted him to play Renjith. Even though he loved the story, he couldn’t do it because he had no dates. He was the one who told us that the project would need a big production house. He helped us get in touch with (producer) Vijay Subramaniam who brought in his close friend and producer, Vijay Babu. That helped us a lot because Vijay Babu came to our rescue on occasions when the shoot had almost got stalled.”
Arriving at the cast
Manu says Suraj was the only choice to play Shaji. “The Malayali audience has given the license to do mad-cap comedy to a few actors and he is one of them.” There were several choices to play Renjith until Sharaf said yes.
To play Jithin, they had approached “a marketable actor”, but that did not materialise. “However, casting Sandeep for the role was the right decision. He understood the script and nuances in the first sitting itself. As for the other three boys, I chose Arun (Pradeep) after watching his YouTube videos. The character was curated for him. Saaf Boi and Arun (Ajikumar) impressed us with their rapport on and off the screen.”
Sharafudheen in Padakkalam
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Discussing his approach to comedy, Manu says, “The film worked because we did not deliberately generate laughs. It is the irony that created humour. I learnt it from Basil chettan. There is irony in the premise and we tapped into it. The biggest advantage we had were actors such as Suraj chettan and Sharaf ikka who can make comedy from thin air.”
Manu notes that he is disappointed that not many makers are keen about making comedy films. “If a comedy film flops that is a serious thing and that is why many filmmakers refrain from taking that risk. The golden era of Malayalam cinema has had some amazing comedy movies and I wish to see more such films.”
That Manu is a die-hard comics fan, read DC Comics, is a given once you watch the movie. “Nithin and I are hardcore DC fans. I am an atheist, but I always say that DC is my religion and Batman is my God! In fact, our actors had no clue about the DC characters and so we created a WhatsApp group, DC Boys, to educate them!”
Manu Swaraj with Rajinikanth
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And the highpoint post release? Meeting Rajinikanth in Kozhikode where he was shooting for Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer 2. “We met him because of Suraj chettan who is acting in it. I still have not processed what all happened when we met him in his caravan. After watching the trailer, he said in the typical Rajini swag, Intha padam hit appa (This movie is a hit buddy)!”
Before signing off, Manu says that he plans to make movies of all genres except “first world, feel-good movies.”
Padakkalam is running in theatres.
Published – May 28, 2025 10:50 am IST