Padakkalam Movie Review

Padakkalam Movie Review
Cast: Sandeep Pradeep, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sharafudheen
Director: Manu Swaraj
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Padakkalam, the debut venture of director Manu Swaraj, sets out to mix campus life with supernatural twists. With familiar elements like friendships, college drama, and a touch of mystery, the film tries to deliver a unique experience through a storyline reminiscent of Indiana Jones meets desi-style parakaya pravesham (body swapping).

Plot Summary

The story's main focus is on Jithin (Sandeep Pradeep), a sub-engineering college student who finds himself heartbroken when his girlfriend, Jeevika (Niranjana Anoop), abruptly ends the relationship. He tries to console and find solutions for his friends Ramzad, Kannan, and Nakul while the campus is in uproar with protests. The students from Jithin's department have risen against their HOD for holding his post by false pretenses, as though he had fake certificates.

With the post of HOD now in question, two professors—senior faculty member Shaji (Suraj Venjaramoodu) and the more approachable Renjith (Sharafudheen)—are eyed as replacements. Though Shaji is chosen due to seniority, Jithin and his friends soon begin to notice his very bizarre sorts of behavior. Sensing preternatural or are thinking that Renjith might have cast black magic upon Shaji in one manipulation or another, they argue into their investigations. With the deepening of their investigation, they uncover a lot of malefic truths about Renjith's powers and intentions, and that leads to some untoward consequences.

Discussing What Works and What Does Not Work

A pretty interesting setup for the film is the blending of fantasy with campus life. It has some potential with the body-swap and supernatural concepts, but they weaken the story when just placed into a somewhat trivial college faculty bazar. It should have been something the setting adds to, but it feels like a very precious lost gesture.

Suraj Venjaramoodu and Sharafudheen shine and inject humor and life into a few scenes post-body swap, hardly keeping the film alive for a while. The group of students add to the comedy through their antics, but the writing does not take full advantage of these situations.

A notable drawback is the underwhelming female representation. Characters like Jeevika and Shaji’s wife (Pooja Mohanraj) lack development and play minimal roles in the plot, reducing their presence to mere side characters.

Final Verdict
Padakkalam attempts to offer a light-hearted, supernatural campus comedy, and while it has its moments—thanks largely to a couple of strong performances—it ultimately suffers from weak storytelling and shallow character development. Manu Swaraj shows promise with this clean, genre-blending debut, but stronger writing would have made for a more memorable film.