On Saturday, Mammootty dropped a trailer for Padayaatra, his upcoming film that reunites the actor with filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan after a long gap of three decades. The trailer, which runs for around 70 seconds, shows Mammootty as a doctor who navigates a complex cultural landscape. There are references to a Maoist attack, and a legal case over an act of treason. There is also the warning over a fake doctor and an investigation involving Mammootty’s medical professional by Alencier Ley Lopez's police officer. There are some tribal characters in the film as well.

Padayaatra is directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan from a screenplay he has written with IAS officer KV Mohan Kumar. The film brings Adoor back together with Mammootty for the first time after 1994’s Vidheyan. Together with his role in Ponthan Mada, Mammootty’s performance as a tyrannical landlord named Bhaskara Patelar in Vidheyan earned him a National Award for Best Actor.

It marked the actor’s second National Award, his first being for performances in Adoor’s Mathilukal and Hariharan’s Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. 

Coming back to Padayaatra, the upcoming film also stars Indrans, Grace Antony, Janardhanan, Jagadish, Sudheer Karamana, Zeenath, Nandu, Aliyar, Santhosh Keezhattoor, Sreeshma Chandran, and P Sreekumar, among others. The brief trailer packs in all their characters, promising another intense and socially relevant rural drama from Adoor. 

Besides starring in the lead role, Mammootty also produces it through his eponymous banner. Production on the film has been wrapped. Unveiling the Padayaatra trailer, producer Mammootty Kampany wrote, “The wait is over. Witness the journey of a lifetime.”

On the technical front, the film has composer Mujeeb Majeed, cinematographer Shehnad Jalal, editor Praveen Prabhakar, and production designer Shajie Naduvil, among others. The makers are yet to announce an official release date for the film. Meanwhile, here is a link to the Padayaatra trailer: