Malayalam filmmaker Manu Swaraj on his directorial debut, ‘Padakkalam’, a sleeper hit at the box office

Malayalam filmmaker Manu Swaraj talks about his directorial debut Padakkalam which is a fantasy entertainer

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, 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.

“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.”