Saregama’s Studio arm Yoodlee Films has come on board as producers for the Malayalam film Padavettu. Co-produced by Sunny Wayne, the film directed by Liju Krishna also stars Aditi Balan, Manju Warrier, and Shine Tom.
Sharing a new poster from the film, Nivin wrote that the film will release in 2022. “Story of Conflict... Struggle... Survival... As long as there are humans, the fight will continue. Padavettu (2022) in cinemas near you.”
Liju, who scripted the film, says it is a political drama relevant to our times. “It endeavours to portray the relentless pursuit of the layman, the oppressed section of society who is in a constant struggle and fight to reclaim their unique identity and rightful place in a world meant for all.Padavettu visualises the aspirations, pain and joy of life in an idyllic village in North Kerala. The fact that the film has many locals performing in it with due support from the villagers makes Padavettu truly a film from the people, by the people and for the people.”
An elated Sunny Wayne added that the support from accomplished production houses like Yoodlee Films is a “testament to the fact that the Malayalam industry is rapidly growing and gaining pan-India prominence, with due support from OTT platforms which are now betting big on Malayalam films”.
Nivin, who recently won accolades for his affecting performance in Moothon, went through an intense physical transformation for the role in Padavettu. The actor believes that borderless synergies are the future of entertainment.
“Padavettu is a story that impacted me hugely upon initial narration,” he says. “It’s a story of second chances and finding the inner mettle to stand up against the wrong. I strongly believe that the storyline, emotions, and beautiful portrayal of characters will connect well with a wide audience and earn the film a great reception.”
Aditi Balan, for whom Padavettu marks her second Malayalam feature, finds it heartening to see Malayalam films claiming a pan-India following. “The fact that Yoodlee is backing Malayalam cinema in such a significant way is indicative that more such collaborations will become the norm.”
Siddharth Anand Kumar, Vice President, Films at Saregama India, says, “Padavettu is a strong narrative about an underdog’s awakening to his true potential when pitted against circumstances. Given the amazing work being done by Nivin and the unique directorial vision of Liju Krishna, Padavettu is a story that we are excited to produce. Yoodlee Films is aggressively looking at producing a spate of regional content in the coming months, and the inclusion of this film in our slate with such an illustrious team is a matter of great pride for us.’’
The film has Bibin Paul as the executive producer, Govind Vasantha on the music, Deepak D Menon as director of photography, Shafique Mohamed Ali as editor, and Mashar Hamsa as costume designer.
Yoodlee Films’ foray into borderless entertainment and southern cinema is not new. It has already produced the National award-winning Tamil film KD in 2019 and the Malayalam-Tamil bilingual Abhiyum Anuvum earlier.
Siddharth concludes, “As far as we are concerned, we look at India not just in terms of one but many film industries that can potentially win over the global audience. We also do not want to neglect digital content consumers in smaller towns who want to enjoy stories in their native languages. We believe that the next big set of audiences will emerge from there, and so we want to produce content in various regional languages like Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi etc. There are unheard stories and an inexhaustible talent pool in every corner of India, and it would be myopic to limit content creation to just Hindi or one or two languages.”