A Mollywood Fantasy Comedy Is Quietly Making Waves On OTT — Have You Watched Padakkalam Yet?

So, wondering what to watch? We might have a good suggestion. If you’re into fantasy and comedy at the same time, Padakkalam, available on Jio Hotstar, could be a great option. The film is currently streaming in five languages: Malayalam (original), Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. But before investing more than two hours into it, you might be asking, is it worth your time? Let’s explore that in this article.

Plot of Padakkalam

Padakkalam is set in a college, where one of the teachers obtains a magical game board that can control another person’s body. However, it’s a gambling-based game, so everyone, including the teacher, must bet something of equal value. Four of his students discover the game board, leading to a series of hilarious incidents from their side.

Cast and Their Performances in Padakkalam

The film stars Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sharafudheen, Sandeep Pradeep, Niranjana Anoop, Arun Pradeep, Saaf, Arun Ajikumar, Pooja Mohanraj, and Ishan Shoukath. The performances vary, possibly due to issues with the direction. For instance, in an early scene set in the college canteen featuring Saaf, Arun Ajikumar, Arun Pradeep, and Sandeep Pradeep, their conversation comes across as amateurish—almost like a poorly made TikTok video. Fortunately, the quality improves as the film progresses, though there are still moments where the cast underperforms.

Spoiler warning: There’s a body-switching scene involving the characters played by Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sharafudheen, and Sandeep Pradeep. However, the dialogue delivery and mannerisms don’t effectively reflect the change in identities — they all behave somewhat similarly. Only later does Sandeep Pradeep begin to show some differentiation in his behavior. Even so, the iconic smile that defined Sharafudheen’s character is missing from Sandeep Pradeep’s portrayal after the switch.

Overall, the film is enjoyable, but the direction by debutant Manu Swaraj needs significant improvement — especially considering that even award-winning industry veterans fail to shine under his direction.

So, should you watch this film? Absolutely — it offers something fresh from Mollywood, even if it’s inspired by films from other industries. That said, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Check out trailer here:

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