Suraj Venjaramoodu and Sharaf U Dheen's Padakkalam, directed by debutant Manu Swaraj, commenced on Friday. The upcoming film officially began production with a pooja ceremony held at the Chottanikkara Bhagawathy Temple in Kochi, which was attended by its cast and crew.

Padakkalam, jointly scripted by Manu and Nithin C Babu, also stars Falimy-fame Sandeep Pradeep, Niranjana Anoop, Saafboi, Arun Pradeep, Arun Ajikumar, Ishan Shoukath, and Pooja Mohanraj in prominent roles. Its technical crew comprises cinematographer Anu Moothedath, editor Nidhin Raj Arol, and composer Rajesh Murugesan, best known for his work in the Nivin Pauly-starrers Neram (2013) and Premam (2015). Padakkalam is produced by Vijay Babu, Karthik, Yogi G Raj, and Vijay Subramaniam under the banners of Friday Film House and KRG Studios.

Suraj recently wrapped up the shooting of Aamir Pallikkal's ED - Extra Decent, his foray into production. The actor will be seen next in debutant Nahas Nazar's Adios Amigo, alongside Asif Ali, scheduled to release on August 15. He also has Prem Shankar's Thekku Vadakku and Nissam Basheer's upcoming film lined up. Meanwhile, he is making his web series debut with Nithin Renji Panicker's Nagendran's Honeymoons, set to stream from July 19 on Disney+ Hotstar. Additionally, he has signed Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2, his Tamil debut, headlined by Vikram and helmed by Chithha director SU Arun Kumar.

Last seen in George Kora's Tholvi F.C., Sharaf's upcoming slate includes Arfaz Ayub's Level Cross, Amal Neerad's Bougainvillea, Praneesh Vijayan's Pet Detective, alongside his Premam co-star Anupama Pararmeswaran, and Vaishakh Elans' Hello Mummy, opposite Aishwarya Lekshmi.