Padavettu set was all fun when Manju and Nivin shot together: Director Liju Krishna

For his new look in Liju Krishna directorial Padavettu, actor Nivin Pauly had been piling on weight in the past few months. A few days ago, he had revealed that he’s working on reducing it all for the next get up in the film, which is majorly set in Kannur.
Is Nivin’s second look drastically different from the one that we got a glimpse of? Ask its director Liju Krishna and he says, “Of course.He had gained weight tremendously for the portions in our last schedule, which was wrapped up about two weeks before the Covid – 19 issue got serious. He was all set to prepare for a two to three months long break to get in shape for the next portions and that’s when the lockdown descended upon us. I know that he has lost about eight to 10 kgs already now.” Liju reveals around 25 per cent shoot of the film is left. “But, we have ‘landed’ well that the Covid – 19 break isn’t going to affect our continuity,” he says.
The film has Manju Warrier and Nivin Pauly acting together for the first time and the director says having them together on the set was fun. “She joined the shoot a while after it began and everyone was excited to have her. The atmosphere was all about being professional but also a lot of fun while she was around. Despite being a senior artiste, Manju chechi a lot younger at heart than the mostly young crew, and we were told she enjoyed working on this film as well,” he says.
The rest of the film will also be shot in Kerala and its main location is the director’s native place Kanjileri village, in Maloor panchayat of Kannur, where its puja was also held. Liju reveals that many villagers are also part of the cast and the crew had taken a six-month acting workshop for them to get them into the groove. “Thanks to it all, they understand our work and are quite professional themselves. Nivin even gets to take a walk around here sans worries, understanding the locale and his character better,” reveals Liju, who is also working on another script making the best of his lockdown time.