Padakkalam OTT Release Date: When and where to watch Suraj Venjaramoodu & Sharaf U Dheen's fantasy film online

Time of India

2 days ago

Padakkalam OTT Release Date: Get ready to enter a world where reality bends, professors swap bodies, and ancient board games unleash chaos. Padakkalam, the latest Malayalam fantasy caper, is all set to make its digital debut on JioHotstar starting June 10, 2025. After a low-key theatrical run in early May, this surreal comedy-drama is finding a second life on streaming.
When the chalkboard turns into a battleground
At first glance, Padakkalam looks like your average campus drama: two professors, one chair, and a college full of students who'd rather gossip than attend lectures. But beneath that seemingly grounded setting lies a wild, almost cartoonish narrative twist: body-swapping sorcery. Ranjith and Shaji, both professors at a college that doesn't seem to have HR protocols, are vying for the head-of-department post.
While students naturally side with the affable Ranjith, the job goes to Shaji. Things take a turn for the bizarre when Shaji, now HOD, starts behaving erratically like… unsettlingly strange. He's not the man they knew. Turns out, he quite literally isn't. Enter Jithin, a student who notices the sudden personality change.
And through a bit of snooping, a few skipped lectures, and a stolen board game, he uncovers the truth: Ranjith has used black magic, courtesy of an ancient Pachisi set, to switch bodies with Shaji. As absurd as it sounds, the tone of the film embraces it with full conviction.
Once Jithin and his gang of misfit friends get their hands on the mystical board game, they set in motion a series of mishaps that spiral out of control, turning their sleepy college into a chaotic playground for the supernatural. What follows is a frantic attempt to reverse the curse, put people back in their rightful bodies, and restore sanity before final exams and reputations go up in smoke.
A cast that carries the crazy
Suraj Venjaramoodu plays Ranjith with Sharaf U Dheen as the unfortunate Shaji. Niranjana Anoop plays a student caught between chaos and curiosity. The supporting roles, especially Sandeep Pradeep (from Falimy), Arun Ajikumar, and the Saaf Bros, provide comic relief that doesn't feel forced.
Directed by Manu Swaraj and co-written by Swaraj and Nithin C Babu, Padakkalam leans hard into the absurd. This Rajesh Murugesan musical is cinematographed by Anu Moothedath and edited by Nidhin Raj Arol.