Padayaatra, Adoor Gopalakrishnan's film with Mammootty, opens in cinemas on December 4, 2026. Mammootty and Mammootty Kampany announced the date on X on October 21 with a new poster carrying the tagline "An Epic Journey is set to begin".
@MKampanyOffl on XView post on X →
Film: Padayaatra
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Story, screenplay and dialogue: Adoor Gopalakrishnan, K V Mohan Kumar
Production: Mammootty Kampany
Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal ISC
Music: Mujeeb Majeed
Editor: Praveen Prabhakar
Production designer: Shajie Naduvil
Executive producer: George Sebastian
Release: December 4, 2026, in cinemas
Fourth film, first in 32 years
Padayaatra is the fourth film from Adoor and Mammootty, after Anantaram (1987), Mathilukal (1989) and Vidheyan (1994). It brings them together 32 years after Vidheyan. Mammootty is the only actor Adoor has cast as his hero more than once, as we reported in our story on why Adoor breaks his no-repeat rule.
The poster credits list the crew, with music by Mujeeb Majeed and cinematography by Shehnad Jalal. The post also tags Wayfarer Films.
A December slot
The date puts Padayaatra after two big November releases: Ramayana on November 5 and Mammootty's own Tamil film OM, with Dhanush, on November 20.
The first three films
Mathilukal was based on Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's story of his own time in prison, and Vidheyan on Paul Zacharia's novella Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum. Both brought Mammootty the National Film Award for Best Actor. He won it for Mathilukal along with Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, and for Vidheyan along with Ponthan Mada.
Adoor's place in Indian cinema
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is credited with leading the new wave in Malayalam cinema. His debut, Swayamvaram (1972), won him the National Film Award for Best Direction, and he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004. Swayamvaram starred Madhu and Sharada.
Mammootty Kampany's slate
Mammootty Kampany, the actor's own banner, has produced Rorschach (2022), Kaathal – The Core and Kannur Squad (both 2023), and Turbo (2024). Padayaatra is its first film with Adoor, and the most high-profile arthouse project the banner has backed so far.
Their four films together are Anantaram (1987), Mathilukal (1990), Vidheyan (1994) and now Padayaatra. The long gap since Vidheyan makes the new film the first meeting of the two in more than three decades, with Mammootty's own banner backing it this time.
